To test hypotheses concerning the influence of prospective and retro-spective rationality in the development of organizational commitment, we measured both the affective and continuance commitment of recent university graduates on three occasions during theirfirst year of employment and examined their relations with variables measured prior to and following entry into an organization. Prior to entry, we measured variables presumed to bind individuals to their choice of organization (i.e., volition, irrevocability, and importance) as well as perceived decision quality. Following entry, we measured perceptions of job quality, investments, and alternative employment opportunities. The results were more consistent with a prospective- than with a retro-spective-rationality view of the development of commitment. The best predictors of affective commitment were the job-quality and decision-quality variables. Continuance commitment correlated most strongly with the pre-and post-entry measures of perceived alternatives. Implications for organizational efforts to foster commitment in employees are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P.1990. The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63: 1-18.
2.
Allen, N. J., & Smith, J. 1987. An investigation of "extra-role" behaviours within organizations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Vancouver, British Columbia.
3.
Becker, H. S.1960. Notes on the concept of commitment. American Journal of Sociology, 66: 32-42.
4.
Blau, G. J.1986. Job involvement and organizational commitment as interactive predictors of tardiness and absenteeism. Journal of Management, 12: 577-584.
5.
Brehm, J. W.1966. A theory ofpsychological reactance. New York: Academic Press.
6.
Buchanan, B.1974. Building organizational commitment: The socialization of managers in work organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 19: 533-546.
7.
Cattin, D.1980. Estimation of the predictive power of a regression model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65: 407-414.
8.
DeCotiis, T. A., & Summers, T. P.1987. A path analysis of a model of the antecedents and consequences of organizational commitment. Human Relations, 40:445-470.
9.
Farrell, D., & Rusbult, C. E.1981. Exchange variables as predictors ofjob satisfaction, job commitment, and turnover: The impact of rewards, costs, alternatives, and investments. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 27: 78-95.
10.
Griffin, R. W., & Bateman, T. S.1986. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In C. L. Cooper & I. Robertson (Eds.), International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology: 157-188. New York: Wiley & Sons.
11.
Hrebiniak, L. G., & Alutto, J. A.1972. Personal and role related factors in the development of organizational commitment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17: 555-573.
12.
Kiesler, C. A.1971. The psychology of commitment: Experiments linking behavior to belief. New York: Academic Press.
13.
Lawler, E. E., Kuleck, W. J., Rhode, J. G., & Sorensen, J. E.1975. Job choice and post decision dissonance. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 13: 133-145.
14.
Mabey, C.1986. Graduates into industry. Aldershot, Hants: Gower.
15.
March, J. G., & Simon, H. A.1958. Organizations. New York: Wiley.
16.
McGee, G. W., & Ford, R. C.1987. Two (or more?) dimensions of organizational commitment: Reexamination of the Affective and Continuance Commitment Scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72: 638-641.
17.
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J.1984. Testing the "side-bet theory" of organizational commitment: Some methodological considerations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69: 372-378.
18.
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. 1986. Development and consequences of three components of organizational commitment. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, Whistler, British Columbia.
19.
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J.1987. A longitudinal analysis of the early development and consequences of organizational commitment. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 19: 199-215.
20.
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J.1988. Links between work experiences and organizational commitment during the first year of employment: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 61: 195-209.
21.
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J.1991. A three component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1: 61-89.
22.
Meyer, J. P., Allen, N. J., & Gellatly, I. R.1990. Affective and continuance commitment to the organization: Evaluation of measures and analysis of concurrent and time lagged relations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75: 710-720.
23.
Meyer, J. P., Paunonen, S. V., Gellatly, I. R., Goffin, R. D., & Jackson, D. N.1989. Organizational commitment and job performance: It's the nature of the commitment that counts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74: 152-156.
24.
Mowday, R. T., & McDade, T. W. 1979. Linking behavioral and attitudinal commitment: A longitudinal analysis of job choice and job attitudes. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management84-88.
25.
Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M.1982. Employee-organization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover. New York: Academic Press.
26.
Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M., & Porter, L. W.1979. The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14: 224-247.
27.
Nunnally, J. C.1978. Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
28.
O'Reilly, C. A., & Caldwell, D. F.1981. The commitment and job tenure of new employees: Some evidence of postdecisional justification. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26: 597-616.
29.
O'Reilly, C. A., & Chatman, J.1986. Organizational commitment and psychological attachment: The effects of compliance, identification, and internalization on prosocial behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71: 492-499.
30.
Pfeffer, J., & Lawler, J.1980. Effects of job alternatives, extrinsic rewards, and behavioral commit-ment on attitude toward the organization: A field test of the insufficient justification paradigm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25: 38-56
31.
Pierce, J. L., & Dunham, R. B.1987. Organizational commitment: Preemployment propensity and initial work experiences. Journal of Management, 13: 163-178.
32.
Porter, L. W., Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Boulian, P. V.1974. Organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover among psychiatric technicians. Journal of Applied Psychology, 59: 603-609.
33.
Reichers, A. E.1985. A review and reconceptualization of organizational commitment. Academy of Management Review, 10: 465-476.
34.
Ritzer, G., & Trice, H. M.1969. An empirical study of Howard Becker's side-bet theory. Social Forces, 47: 475-479.
35.
Salancik, G. R.1977. Commitment and the control of organizational behavior and belief. In B. M. Staw & G. R. Salancik (Eds.), New directions in organizational behavior: 1-54. Chicago: St. Clair Press.
36.
Shore, L., & Barksdale, K. 1991. A longitudinal assessment of the antecedents of affective and continuance commitment. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Miami Beach, FL.
37.
Staw, B. M.1976. Knee-deep in the big muddy: A study of escalating commitment to a chosen course of action. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16: 27-44.
38.
Staw, B. M.1980. Counterforces to change. In P. S. Goodman (Ed.), Changes in organizations: 87-121. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
39.
Stebbins, R. A.1970. On misunderstanding the concept of commitment: A theoretical clarification. Social Forces, 48: 526-529.
40.
Steers, R. M.1977. Antecedents and outcomes of organizational commitment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22: 46-56.
41.
Stumpf, S. A., & Hartman, K.1984. Individual exploration to organizational commitment or with drawal. Academy of Management Journal, 27: 308-329.
42.
Vroom, V. H.1964. Work and motivation. New York: Wiley.
43.
Vroom, V. H.1966. Organizational choice: A study of pre- and postdecision processes. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1: 212-225.
44.
Vroom, V. H., & Deci, E. L.1971. The stability of post-decision dissonance: A follow up study of the job attitudes of business school graduates. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 6: 36-49.
45.
Walster, E.1964. The temporal sequences of postdecision processes. In L. Festinger (Ed.), Conflict, decision, and dissonance: 112-128. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
46.
Wanous, J. P.1980. Organizational entry. Recruitment, selection, and socialization of newcomers. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
47.
Williams, L. J., & Hazer, J. T.1986. Antecedents and consequences of satisfaction and commitment variables in turnover models: A reanalysis using latent variable structural equation methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71: 219-231.
