The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization

Abstract

Organizational commitment has been conceptualized and measured in various ways. The two studies reported here were conducted to test aspects of a three‐component model of commitment which integrates these various conceptualizations. The affective component of organizational commitment, proposed by the model, refers to employees' emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in, the organization. The continuance component refers to commitment based on the costs that employees associate with leaving the organization. Finally, the normative component refers to employees' feelings of obligation to remain with the organization. In Study 1, scales were developed to measure these components. Relationships among the components of commitment and with variables considered their antecedents were examined in Study 2. Results of a canonical correlation analysis suggested that, as predicted by the model, the affective and continuance components of organizational commitment are empirically distinguishable constructs with different correlates. The affective and normative components, although distinguishable, appear to be somewhat related. The importance of differentiating the components of commitment, both in research and practice, is discussed.

Socio-emotional support in French hospitals: Effects on French nurses' and nurse aides' affective commitment

“…Although all three components of organizational commitment (affective, continuance, and normative) (Allen & Meyer, 1990) increase the likelihood that an employee will choose to remain within the organization, the nature of these psychological ties differs from one another. Affective commitment is characterized by a sense of belonging, pride and loyalty from the employee towards his or her organization (Ibidem, 1990), and allows him or her to feel psychological comfort, and to improve his or her sense of competence.…”

“…Characterized by behaviours that lead an employee to believe that "she is appreciated and loved, estimated and being part of a network" (Cobb, 1976), workplace social support is found to be positively correlated to organizational commitment (Allen & Meyer, 1990), and to negatively influence turnover and absenteeism (Shore & Wayne, 1993). Employees with a supportive supervisor and near colleagues appear to be more satisfied with their work (Irvine & Evans, 1995), and are more inclined to stay in their job (Karsh, Booske & Saintfort, 2005).…”

“…Secondly, how can an individual employee identify her or himself to important stakeholders in the organization if the organization does not allow emotional expression? And, how can an employee be affectively committed (by a sense of belonging, pride and loyalty) to her or his organization (Allen & Meyer, 1990) if the organization/the employer does not care about her or his well-being (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchinson & Sowa, 1986), and more precisely, one's emotional well-being, in case, the HRM policy and practices in the organization are based on the "separation model" (Kirshmeyer, 1995)?…”

É possível integrar, em um mesmo conceito, os vínculos afetivo e instrumental?: o olhar de gestores sobre o comprometimento com a organização

“…Segundo os autores, a origem desse comprometimento advém da percepção do indivíduo acerca das pressões normativas (normalmente provenientes da cultura na qual o sujeito está inserido) a respeito do seu comportamento. Para Allen e Meyer (1990) (1991, p. 79) reconhecem que "os sentimentos de querer fazer e sentir-se obrigado a fazer podem não ser totalmente independentes", embora apontem que os efeitos (consequentes) do comprometimento normativo tenham duração mais curta que os do afetivo. Menezes (2006) chama a atenção para o fato de que se identifi car com a organização ao ponto de sentir-se na obrigação de fazer vem, quase sempre, acompanhado de apego emocional relacionado com a mesma.…”

The Relationship among Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Employees’ Turnover at Unilever Corporation in Nigeria

“…However, the multinational company (Unilever Nigeria PLC) looks for a way to balance the strategies of organizational commitment and job satisfaction looking into the employee benefits on how to satisfy and keep the permanent staff and lay off the contract workforce. Although, much of the subsequent research have focused on attitudinal (e.g., satisfaction) and tangible (e.g., pay) inducements to stay, a growing body of work recognizes that relational inducements such as support from the organization and from a supervisor can also play an important role in such decisions ( (Allen & Meyer, 1990)). Multinational industries in Nigeria face with retention problem, 44% of the employee have a second thought on how to resign once they secure another job.…”