Running Head: TASK 3 WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND JOB SATISFACTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT? AN EXAMINATION OF THESE CAUSAL FACTORS IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST by Phaylinh “Tia” Nosavan Prang _______________________ Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration ______________________ Liberty University, School of Business May 2020 Running Head: TASK 3 ii Abstract In the Middle East, one of the biggest challenges facing supply chain business leaders was the expatriate assignment failures, an average turnover rate of 12%, with the main reason an inability to cope with lifestyle adjustments due to cultural and family pressures. Additionally, fifty-one percent of expatriates leave the multinational corporation (MNC) within two years of repatriation (De Ruiter, Lub, Jansma, and Blomme, 2018; Haak-Saheem, Darwish, & Al-Nasser, 2017; Stoermer, Haslberger, Froese, & Kraeh, 2018). The Middle Eastern workforce showed the disproportionate ratio of expatriates to local nationals in which nearly 99% of employees in the private sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were expatriates (De Ruiter et al., 2018 & Haak-Saheem et al., 2017). The purpose of this quantitative correlation study is to examine the relationship between independent variables (employee engagement-EE and job satisfaction-JS), and dependent variable (organizational commitment-OC) in the supply chain managers of the Middle East organization. The findings of this study showed that there are statistically significant relationships among EE, JS, and OC, indicating the p-values lower than the alpha level of 0.05 for all variables. The findings also showed that age does have a moderating effect on the relationship between EE and OC, Beta = 0.115, p = 0.049, but not in the relationship between JS and OC. Conversely, gender, nationality, and tenure showed no moderation effect in the relationships among EE, JS, and OC. Recommendations to increase both EE and JS are (1) increase EE through organizational culture, gender-balanced management teams, self-efficacy, work-life balance, and a supportive work environment, and (2) increase JS through effective communication, employee development, rewards and recognition, and supervisor support. Key words: Employee Engagement, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, Supply Chain Management, Middle East. Running Head: TASK 3 iii WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND JOB SATISFACTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT? AN EXAMINATION OF THESE CAUSAL FACTORS IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST by Phaylinh “Tia” Nosavan Prang Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Liberty University, School of Business May 2020 ___________________________________________________ Date:____________ Dr. Steven Cates, Chair ___________________________________________________ Date:____________ Dr. William (Kevin) Barksdale, Committee Member ___________________________________________________ Date:____________ Dr. Edward M. Moore, DBA Program Director Running Head: TASK 3 iv Dedication First, I want to dedicate this doctoral research to God for giving me strength, courage, and wisdom to succeed. You have inspired me to do something greater than oneself, to step outside of my comfort zone, and to make the impossible possible. Second, I dedicate this doctoral research to my dad, Phouketh Nosavan (who passed away many years ago), and my mom, Radamany Phimmasone. They believed immigrating to the United States would provide a better life and career opportunities for their children. Thank you for instilling the value of perseverance and nurturing resilience in me at a young age, which serves as the foundation of my life for almost 50 years. Third, I dedicate this doctoral research to my loving husband, Peter Prang, who is a great supporter and long-time companion for over 25 years. He has been a boundless source of inspiration and emotional support throughout my doctoral journey. Fourth, I would like to dedicate this doctoral research to my children, Justin and Sasha Prang, who encouraged me and check on me throughout my doctoral journey. Running Head: TASK 3 v Acknowledgements I am grateful and blessed to God for your strength and support throughout my doctoral journey, which allows me to rise each moment. The completion of my doctoral study would not have been possible without the help of many people. I am thankful for the people that God has divinely placed in my life to give me support and wisdom to complete my doctoral degree. A special thank you to my husband, Peter, and two children, Justin and Sasha, for your support, encouragement, and dedication to make my doctoral dreams a reality. For my children, I hope that I inspired you to follow your dreams that everything is possible through hard work, patience, passion, perseverance, and faith in God. I want to acknowledge family members and colleagues who motivated me to the end: Radamany Phimmasone, Busala Nosavan, Chanda Deom, Pritish Rajendran, Akash Achenkunju, Mujimon Kuzhikkattil, and Sujeesh Unnikrishnan. A big thank you to my committee members: Dr. Steven Cates, Dr. William (Kevin) Barksdale, and Dr. Edward M. Moore. You have inspired me to be a better researcher and a better writer through thoughtful support, guidance, and feedback. Dr. Cates, my dissertation chair, I am forever indebted to you for your continual guidance, encouragement, direction, and availability, which greatly enhanced my research and my ability to complete the doctoral study. Dr. Barksdale and Dr. Moore, I am grateful for your balanced feedback by being honest and straightforward because it builds my skills and confidence, and better the quality of my research paper. I thank you for the editors, Dr. Valerena Candy and Dr. Deepti Sadashiv Muley, who provided me with honest and useful feedback. Finally, I sincerely appreciate the study participants for their time and opinions towards data collection. Without the participants’ contributions, this study would not have been possible. In case I have unintentionally omitted someone, please forgive me, and thank you all very much for your support. Running Head: TASK 3 vi Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. xi List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... xiii Section 1: Foundation of the Study ............................................................................................ 14 Background of the Problem ........................................................................................... 16 Problem Statement......................................................................................................... 21 Purpose Statement ......................................................................................................... 23 Nature of the Study ........................................................................................................ 25 Discussion of Method ........................................................................................ 25 Discussion of Design ......................................................................................... 26 Summary of the nature of the study. ................................................................... 26 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 27 Hypotheses .................................................................................................................... 29 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................. 32 Discussion of theory 1: job demands-resources theory........................................ 32 Discussion of theory 2: social exchange theory. ................................................. 33 Organizational commitment. .............................................................................. 34 Discussion of relationships between theories and variables. ............................... 35 Summary of the conceptual framework. ............................................................. 36 Definition of Terms ....................................................................................................... 36 Running Head: TASK 3 vii Assumptions, Limitations, Delimitations ....................................................................... 37 Assumptions ...................................................................................................... 38 Limitations ......................................................................................................... 38 Delimitations ....................................................................................................