A Note on Organizational Commitment

Abstract

Studies of organizational commitment have tended to focus on managers within single organizations, or on samples of a single employee category across organizations. On the hunch that an alternative approach might yield different findings, the present study examines organizational commitment, antecedents, and consequences among three distinct groups (administrators, semiskilled-unskilled workers, and faculty) within a single organization, a large university. No shared, consistent pattern of antecedents or outcomes of organizational commitment is found among the groups. It is proposed that the development of commitment may vary by employee rank or type of organization. The present data show that the antecedents of organizational commitment and two outcomes (intention to leave the organization and perceived work effort), are quite different for each of the three groups.