**5. Conclusions**

The current study allowed us to conclude that all of the EB dimensions have a positive correlation with the a ffective component of organizational commitment and that there is a positive and significant association in the globality, and between each, of the EB dimensions individually towards a ffective commitment. As for the inverse relationship, the AOC is a direct predictor of perception of EB strategies, that is to say, the greater the perception of AOC of employees, the greater will be the perception of EB strategies. It appears that the "mission, vision, and values" strategies are the EB strategy with the greatest positive impact on AOC, and the EB strategy with the least positive impact on AOC corresponds to "compensation and benefits". Sociodemographic variables, considered as a whole, do not constitute a direct predictor of the level of a ffective commitment. It was shown that the sociodemographic variables age group, gender, employment relationship, and sector of activity have a positive impact on the AOC of employees, but literacy levels and seniority do not. The combined e ffect of sociodemographic variables and EB strategies on AOC is not verified. EB has a positive relationship with AOC; however, sociodemographic variables, as a whole, have no positive relationship with AOC. In summary, it appears that EB variables and sociodemographic variables do not act in a combined way on AOC, but independently. It can be concluded that this research highlighted the role of human resource managemen<sup>t</sup> strategies applied in EB processes, focusing on the relevance of talent retention through a ffective commitment as a competitive advantage.

The results obtained with this research showed that there is a positive association between EB strategies and the employees' AOC. In terms of research contribution, this investigation allowed us to understand that the variable "compensation and benefits", presented the lowest Spearman coe fficient. This fact demonstrates that "compensation and benefits" is not the greatest factor for retaining talent, through a ffective commitment, but rather identification with the "mission, vision and values" of the organization, the perception of support and justice/fairness in the "management processes", identification with the principles and values of the "organizational culture" and a good "image and communication" of the organization. In addition to the "compensation and benefits" dimension, the "Function" and "Team" variables also had the lowest Spearman coe fficients. The results of this study sugges<sup>t</sup> that individuals become emotionally committed to the organization, and that emotional commitment develops when the employee gets involved and identifies with the organization [63]. This a ffective commitment can be achieved when the employee perceives his employer as fair and supportive, when he identifies with the organization's values, trusts leaders and managers, feels that his goals and the organization's goals converge, feels satisfaction in his function, and understands that the organization is socially responsible [62]. These results corroborate with those advocated by Cappelli and Keller [64], due to the fact that this study also shows that professionals show a preference for organizations with an innovative culture, managemen<sup>t</sup> style and attractive and supportive leadership, oriented towards career and development competencies, with fair managemen<sup>t</sup> and evaluation processes, whose mission, vision, and values are challenging and inspiring, and with good communication and image. These factors revealed to have an important role in the a ffective commitment of employees, which, in turn, has an impact on the retention and involvement of talented professionals. The inverse relationship of the variables was also tested, that is, the results obtained with this investigation allowed to verify the existence of a positive association between the perception of organizational commitment and a greater perception of all human resource managemen<sup>t</sup> strategies applied in EB, as stated by Across [52]. The scale used in this study, applied to EB strategies, had already been used in the study of Sezões [14]. However, in his study it was not possible to prove the relationship between the variables. Furthermore, a quantitative scale was not used to measure organizational commitment, and the role of sociodemographic and labor variables regarding commitment was not studied. The option for the a ffective component of organizational commitment was reinforced. It was also decided to extend the scope of the study to the entire active population in Portugal, which had not ye<sup>t</sup> been done in studies focusing on these variables. All these elements constitute academic contributions.

This research, as well as other similar research, represent an important contribution to management, both in periods of economic expansion and in more unfavorable periods. In a situation that presents many di fficulties to the vast majority of organizations, it is even more important to implement talent managemen<sup>t</sup> practices capable of retaining and engaging talented professionals, increasing their affective bond with the organization, as they represent a critical element for competitiveness and success. This study allowed us to know which variables better allow for developing the bonds of affective commitment responsible for the retention and involvement of the "talents", namely the identification with the "mission, vision, and values" of the organization, the perception of support and justice in the "managerial processes", identification with the principles and values of "organizational culture", and a good "reputation and communication" of the organization. It is, therefore, on these dimensions that talent managemen<sup>t</sup> practices should focus, even though they all have associations and positive correlation, indicating that none can be overlooked. On the other hand, this study also demonstrated that the inverse relationship between the variables has statistical importance. The impact of a ffective organizational commitment on the perception of employer branding strategies is relevant, as the relationship between these variables demonstrated a positive and significant association. Finally, but no less relevant, we have the role of sociodemographic variables in the a ffective component of organizational commitment, where it is important to retain that, although, when tested as a whole, their influence on the a ffective commitment of individuals is not proven, when evaluated individually, the results demonstrated that the variables: age group, gender, employment relationship, and sector of activity have a positive impact on the AOC of employees.

Considering that the objectives proposed for this research have been achieved, some limitations in the research are recognized, such as the inclusion of a restricted range of variables. Hence, in future studies, the number of variables under study should be increased, including, for example, marital status, turnover, number of dependents, organizational support, or satisfaction levels. It is noteworthy that the sample of participants was reduced, which limits the generalization of results. Additionally, because the data collection coincided with the pandemic period, suffering the evident consequences of social isolation, it would also be pertinent to repeat the same study in the post-pandemic period, to determine whether the observed results are maintained or diverge from the current ones. It would also be pertinent to add complementary research methodologies, such as a comparative study between groups of employees from the public and private sectors or a comparative case study between different sectors of activity.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, P.A., V.S., and I.R.; Methodology, P.A., V.S., and M.A.-Y.-O.; Validation, P.A., M.J.S., and M.A.-Y.-O.; Formal Analysis, I.R. and V.S.; Investigation, P.A. and V.S.; Resources, D.M.; Data Curation, P.A. and V.S.; Writing—Original Draft, F.M. and M.C.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
