Power and Commitment: An Empirical Assessment

Abstract

There is some question as to the usefulness of Etzioni's typological theory of compliance in organizational research. This study with a sample of 265 blueand white-collar workers in six organizations tests propositions from the theory concerning relationships between power used by organizations, commitment of workers to the organization and task performance. The results cast doubt on the usefulness of a classification scheme using concrete organizational types, but support the proposition that the more normative (less utilitarian) the power, the greater the commitment. Little or no relationship was found between power and task performance or commitment and task performance.

Alienation Matters: Validity and Utility of Etzioni's Theory of Commitment in Explaining Prosocial Organizational Behavior

“…However, subsequent researchers have demonstrated the prevalence of various combinations of the three identified forms of commitment within the same organizations (Azim & Boseman, 1975;Penley & Gould, 1988). The specific profile of commitment in an organization, thus, most probably results from the particular combination of remunerative, coercive, and symbolic elements in its compliance structure, as well as from potentially differing perceptions thereof among its employees (e.g., Franklin, 1975;Jernigan, Beggs, & Kohut, 2002).…”

“…This theory-guided approach distinguishes between three types of employee attachment to the organization, that have been termed by Etzioni calculative, moral, and alienative commitment. Despite some promising studies, Etzioni's model has received little attention in the literature (e.g., Azim & Boseman, 1975;Banai, 2002;Franklin, 1975). My aim was to provide evidence for its theoretical and empirical validity and usefulness in predicting organizationally desirable prosocial behavior.…”

Multilevel analysis of organizational goal congruence.

“…Seven of the items were adapted from the Porter and Smith (1970) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (excluding the three intention-to-quit items), and two were adapted from Franklin's (1975) Commitment to the Formal Organization Scale. Schmitt and Ostroff(1987) reported an internal consistency reliability of .82 for this 9-item scale.…”

Compromiso e inteligencia emocional en mediadores del Poder Judicial de Oaxaca, México

“…Siguiendo a Etzioni (1975), el compromiso es la implicación positiva del individuo en la institución. Con el mismo sentido, Franklin (1975) fundamenta este concepto en el deseo de acatar las normas de la organización y permanecer en la misma.…”