**6. Discussion**

The main objective of this research was to measure and understand the influence of employer brand dimensions on affective organizational commitment. To achieve the indicated goal, the research was placed within the framework of already established studies in the domain of employer branding, by testing five elements of the employer brand to identify the factors that are significant for the development of affective organizational commitment, as the strongest type of organizational commitment.

The study showed that the application value (β = 0.361; p = 0.003 < 0.05) has a positive and significant effect on the affective organizational commitment among employees of Croatian small and medium-sized enterprises, thus confirming hypothesis H1. This means that employees develop an emotional connection and identification with the organization when the company provides the opportunity to apply the previously gained knowledge, so they understand that the effort invested in training and education pays off through activities at the workplace. Given that no research was found that measured the impact of the same independent variable, the results can be linked to the research conducted on employees of medium-sized and large public and private organizations in Portugal, which showed that career development and communication in the organization positively affect the AOC [11]. Another study on IT employees in India proved a significant relationship between employer branding (as a comprehensive construct) and organizational commitment (also as a comprehensive

construct) [75]. Similarly, a study conducted on employees of two banks in India, showed that all five dimensions of employer brand have a positive influence on organizational commitment, with the mediating influence of employee engagement [56]. The results indicate that it is important for SME employees to know that their knowledge and skills are used in a valuable way that contributes to the success of the company. They want to learn and grow at their workplaces but also encourage the growth of their colleagues. The importance of information sharing at all organizational levels indicates the significance of an inclusive, open environment where no employee is left behind. By sharing knowledge and ideas, employees together provide valuable products or services to their customers while giving back to their community. They want to make a difference. The importance of a humanitarian work environment was also demonstrated in a study on 347 executives in India whose results indicated corporate social responsibility influenced the perception of the entire employer brand [76]. On the other hand, research on small and medium-sized enterprises in Switzerland showed that employee skills management does not affect the development of affective organizational commitment [55]. The lack of research on application value, and the varying results in the published literature ask for additional studies in order to gain better insights into the effect of application value on AOC. The differences between developing and developed countries also demonstrate that employees in developing countries are in need of further training to upgrade their skills to be competitive in the labor market, which could be one of the explanations for why this element of employer branding is valuable for SME employees in Croatia.

This research has also shown that interest value (β = 0.504; p = 0.000 < 0.01) has a positive and significant effect on the affective organizational commitment of employees in SMEs, meaning that hypothesis H2 was also supported. In other words, when a company provides an exciting work atmosphere in which employees are presented with numerous work challenges where they can use their creativity, they will develop a psychological and emotional connection with that company. The results can be connected with research conducted on managers of multinational companies in Belgium, which showed that the lived employment experience, which is manifested by a sense of personal achievement obtained through challenging and creative tasks, is positively related to the development of AOC [75]. This is important for SMEs since they are known for their innovativeness and creativity, which often influences their success [77]. Knowing that an organization fosters out-of-the-box thinking and encourages employees' originality can do a great deal for the development of AOC and longterm connection to the organization. This was also proven in a study conducted on small and medium-sized ICT enterprises in China, which showed that AOC mediated the influence of interpersonal trust on employee innovation. The mentioned study also tested gender differences and showed that the direct impact of interpersonal trust on innovative behavior was significantly larger for women, however for men, the affective organizational commitment increased their knowledge-sharing intentions [78].

Future studies are also encouraged to test the gender differences to understand if there are differences between the man and women in their perception of EB dimension importance and to see whether these differences have an effect on affective organizational commitment. The results of H1 and H2 hypothesis testing point to the fact that employees look for interesting and challenging organizational culture in which their work is meaningful and appreciated. Through their skills, open communication, and knowledge sharing, they can contribute to the success of their company, while at the same time working in an environment that takes care of its customers and society.

### *The Influence of Employer Brand Dimensions on the Affective Organizational Commitment… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112133*

Although the literature points out that economic value, in terms of salaries, compensation, bonuses, and other rewards, positively affects the development of organizational commitment [4, 11], in this case, it turned out to be exactly the opposite; that is, it has a negative impact on affective organizational commitment (β = 0.292; p = 0.055 < 0.10), thus rejecting hypothesis H4. It can be concluded that above-average compensation packages or above-average salaries for SME employees do not play a significant role in the development of emotional attachment to the organization. This is important for small and medium-sized enterprises that lack financial resources and cannot compete with large organizations in offering stimulating compensation packages. Results could be partially compared to the study conducted on the employees working in government agencies in UAE, which showed that salary was not significantly related to affective organizational commitment [79]. On the contrary, a study conducted on the universities' academic and administration staff in Central and Eastern Europe, showed that rewards and salaries significantly influence employees' attitudes related to the increase in organizational performance, and this effect was mediated by affective organizational commitment, meaning that economic benefits have a direct effect on AOC, which in turn also influences the performance of employees [80]. Another study conducted on SME employees in Pakistan showed that salary package increases the organizational commitment of employees [81]. Future studies on SMEs in the European context are encouraged, to get a precise answer on the influence of economic value on the AOC, due to the large differences in cultural, economic, political, and other environmental factors between the mentioned countries, and because people in particular Eastern, Asian, economies tend to place greater importance on extrinsic factors due to the lower living standards [82].

Social (β = 0.058; p = 0.615 < 0.10) and development values (β = 0.105; p = 0.431 < 0.10) in this study did not show a significant impact on affective organizational commitment, meaning that hypotheses H3 and H5 could not be supported. However, several studies have shown that they play a large role in building the overall commitment of employees [4, 11, 15, 56], therefore they should not be neglected when creating a positive and stimulating work environment. A partial comparison of the results could be found in a study on Chinese SMEs that discovered that co-worker support did not influence organizational commitment [82]. On the contrary, a study conducted on U.S. Army personnel demonstrated that interpersonal conflict was negatively related to affective organizational commitment, while support from the supervisors positively influenced affective organizational commitment [83]. Another research conducted on employees of government districts showed that social networks among employees predict affective organizational commitment [84]. In spite of the results of this study on Croatian SMEs, it is still recommended to keep a friendly atmosphere within the company and encourage positive bonds and collegial support among co-workers, since many studies showed it influenced organizational commitment as a whole, making employees feel as part of a bigger family and contributing to their sense of belonging [35]. The same applies to the development value as some studies have shown that support practices that influence the self-esteem, fulfillment, and development of employees help in achieving AOC [55]. The above can result in higher productivity, loyalty, and better performance of employees [4]. The company can then affirm itself as a good and desirable employer, allowing its employees to build their identity as the important and valuable human capital of the organization.

#### **6.1 Research limitations and recommendations for future studies**

The main limitation of the study is the sample size. A small percentage of completed questionnaires indicates insufficient motivation of employees of small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the research. The recommendation for future studies goes in the direction of collecting a larger number of responses. Also, the questionnaire as a data collection method has certain weaknesses that are most often manifested in misunderstanding the questions or not reading the statements carefully [85]. The study is cross-sectional in nature, thus providing only a snapshot of the employee's current opinions and beliefs at the moment they were fulfilling the questionnaire. Future studies should observe the longitudinal impact of the EB dimension on affective organizational commitment to gain better and more accurate insights.

Another limitation relates to the number of dimensions through which the employer brand was observed. Since some authors used a larger number of employer brand dimensions in their research [11, 86], there is a possibility that the results would be different if more elements were included. Future studies are encouraged to include more EB dimensions to get a comprehensive picture of all the elements that influence affective organizational commitment in SMEs in developing countries. This research measured the influence of the employer brand on affective organizational commitment as one of the three types of organizational commitment. It would be advisable to include normative and continuance commitment in future studies in order to get a complete picture of the influence of the employer branding dimensions on the organizational commitment of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Republic of Croatia, while additional research could include a larger number of moderating and mediating variables, such as organizational support, internal communication, worklife balance, etc.
