This study proposes and tests a model of affective organizational commitment that seeks to capture aspects of the unique institutional context of public organizations. An analysis of survey data from seven public sector organizations suggests external control increases organizational goal ambiguity and two types of bureaucratic red tape, which, in turn, negatively affects affective commitment. Although personnel red tape has a direct adverse impact on affective commitment, procurement red tape is not found to have a significant effect. Organizational goal ambiguity’s influence on affective organizational commitment, however, is mediated through its effect on centralization and role ambiguity. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of these relationships and possible explanations for instances when findings are not consistent with expectations.
AikenM.HageJ. (1966). Organizational alienation: A comparative analysis. American Sociological Review, 31, 497-507.
2.
AngleH. L.PerryJ. L. (1981). An empirical assessment of organizational commitment and organizational effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26(1), 1-14.
3.
BalfourD. L.WechslerB. (1990). Organizational commitment: A reconceptualization and empirical test of public-private differences. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 10(3), 23-40.
4.
BalfourD. L.WechslerB. (1996). Organizational commitment: Antecedents and outcomes in public organizations. Public Productivity & Management Review, 19, 256-277.
5.
BarnardC. I. (1938). The functions of the executive. Harvard, MA: Harvard University Press.
6.
BenteinK.VandenbergR. J.VandenbergheC.StinglhamberF. (2005). The role of change in the relationship between commitment and turnover: A latent growth modeling approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 468-482.
7.
BergmanM. E. (2006). The relationship between affective and normative commitment: Review and research agenda. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 645-663.
8.
BozemanB. (1987). All organizations are public. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
9.
BozemanB. (1993). A theory of government “red tape.”Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 3, 273-303.
10.
BozemanB. (2000). Bureaucracy and red tape. Upper Saddle Hill, NJ: Prentice Hall.
11.
BozemanB.BretschneiderS. I. (1994). The “publicness puzzle” in organization theory: A test of alternative explanations of differences between public and private organizations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 4, 197-224.
12.
BozemanB.ReedP. N.ScottP. G. (1992). Red tape and task delays in public and private organizations. Administration and Society, 24, 290-322.
13.
BrynardD. J. (1995). Combating red tape in the public sector. The International Journal of Public Sector Management, 8(4), 38-37.
14.
BuchananB. (1974). Government managers, business executives and organizational commitment. Public Administration Review, 34, 339-347.
15.
ChunY. H.RaineyH. G. (2005). Goal ambiguity in U.S. federal agencies. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 15(1), 1-30.
16.
CohenA. (2003). Multiple commitments in the workplace. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
17.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum.
18.
Cooper-HakimA.ViswesvaranC. (2005). The construct of work commitment: Testing an integrative framework. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 241-259.
19.
CubeR. L.JablinF. M. (1992). Retiring from work: The paradoxical impact of organizational commitment. Journal of Managerial Issues, 4, 31-45.
20.
DeHart-DavisL. (2009). Green tape and public employee rule abidance: Why organizational rule attributes matter. Public Administration Review, 69, 901-910.
21.
DunhamR. B.GrubeJ. A.CastanedaM. B. (1994). Organizational commitment: The utility of an integrative definition. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 370-380.
22.
FeldmanM. S. (1989). Order without design: Information production and policy making. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
23.
FerlieE.HartleyJ.MartinS. (2003). Changing public service organizations: Current perspectives and future projects. British Journal of Management, 14(S1), 1-14.
24.
FischerR.MansellA. (2009). Commitment across cultures: A meta-analytic approach. Journal of International Business Studies, 40, 1339-1358.
25.
FlynnD. M.TannenbaumS. I. (1993). Correlates of organizational commitment: Differences in the public and private sector. Journal of Business and Psychology, 8, 103-116.
26.
GreenbergJ.BaronA. B. (2003). Behavior in organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
27.
HackettR. D.BycioP.HausdorfP. A. (1994). Further assessments of Meyer and Allen’s (1991) three-component model of organizational commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(1), 15-23.
28.
HallR. H. (1963). The concept of bureaucracy: An empirical assessment. American Journal of Sociology, 69(1), 32-40.
29.
HaydukL. A. (1987). Structural equation modeling with LISREL: Essentials and advances. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
30.
HouseR. J.RizzoJ. R. (1972). Toward the measurement of organizational practices. Journal of Applied Psychology, 56, 388-396.
31.
JaccardJ. J.WanC. K. (1996). LISREL approaches to interaction effects in multiple regression. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
KaufmanH. (1977). Red tape: Its origin, uses and abuses. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
34.
KelmanS. (1987). Making public policy: A hopeful view of American government. New York, NY: Basic Books.
35.
KelmanS. (2005a). Public management needs help!Academy of Management Journal, 48, 967-969.
36.
KelmanS. (2005b). Unleashing change: A study of organizational renewal in government. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
37.
KlingnerD. E.NalbandianJ.LlorensJ. (2010). Public personnel management: Contexts and strategies (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
38.
KoJ.PriceJ. L.MuellerC. W. (1997). Assessment of Meyer and Allen’s three-component model of organizational commitment in South Korea. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 961-973.
39.
LavignaR. J. (2003). Reforming public sector human resource management: Best practices from the practitioners view. In HaysS. W.KearneyR. C. (Eds.), Public personnel administration: Problems and prospects (pp. 352-366). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
40.
LeeT. W.MitchellT. R. (1994). An alternative approach: The unfolding model of voluntary employee turnover. Academy of Management Journal,19, 51-89.
41.
LindblomC. E. (1959). The science of muddling through. Public Administration Review, 29(1), 79-88.
42.
LockeE. A.LathamG. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
43.
LockeE. A.LathamG. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57, 705-717.
44.
LowiT. (1969). The end of liberalism. New York, NY: Norton.
45.
LynnL. E. (1981). Managing the public’s business. New York, NY: Basic Books.
46.
MathieuJ. E.ZajacD. M. (1990). A review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of organizational commitment. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 171-194.
47.
MeierK. J. (1993). Politics and bureaucracy. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
48.
MeyerJ. P.AllenN. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1(1), 61-89.
49.
MeyerJ. P.AllenN. J. (1997). Commitment in the workplace: Theory, research, and application. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
50.
MeyerJ. P.AllenN. J.GellatlyI. 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.
51.
MeyerJ. P.AllenN. J.SmithC. A. (1993). Commitment to organizations and occupations: Extension and test of a three component conceptualization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 538-551.
52.
MeyerJ. P.HerscovitchL. (2001). Commitment in the workplace: Toward a general model. Human Resource Management Review, 11, 299-326.
53.
MeyerJ. P.StanleyD. J.HerscovitchL.TopolnytskyL. (2002). Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the agency: A meta-analysis of antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61(1), 20-52.
54.
MeyerM. W. (1979). Change in public bureaucracies. London, UK: Cambridge University Press.
55.
MoonM. J. (2000). Organizational commitment revisited in new public management: Motivation, organizational culture, sector, and managerial level. Public Performance and Management Review, 24, 177-194.
56.
MorrisJ. H.SteersR. M.KochJ. L. (1979). Influence of organization structure on role conflict and ambiguity for three occupational groupings. Academy of Management Journal, 22(1), 58-71.
57.
MorrowP. C. (1983). Concept redundancy in organizational research: The case of work commitment. Academy of Management Review, 8, 486-500.
58.
MowdayR. T.PorterL. W.SteersR. M. (1982). Employee-organizational linkages. New York, NY: Academic Press.
59.
NicholsonP. J.Jr.GohS. C. (1983). The relationship of organization structure and interpersonal attitudes to role conflict and ambiguity in different work environments. Academy of Management Journal, 26, 148-155.
60.
NunnallyJ. C.BernsteinI. (1994). Psychometric theory. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
61.
O’ReillyC. A.III.ChatmanJ. (1986). Organizational commitment and psychological attachment: The effects of compliance, identification, and internalization on prosocial behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 492-499.
62.
OrganD. W.GreeneC. N. (1981). The effects of formalization on professional involvement: A compensatory process approach. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 237-257.
63.
PandeyS. K. (2010). Cutback management and the paradox of publicness. Public Administration Review70, 564-571.
64.
PandeyS. K.GarnettJ. L. (2006). Exploring public sector communication performance: Testing a model and drawing implications. Public Administration Review, 66(1), 37-51.
65.
PandeyS. K.RaineyH. G. (2006). Public managers’ perceptions of organizational goal ambiguity: Analyzing alternate models. International Public Management Journal, 9(2), 85-112.
66.
PandeyS. K.ScottP. G. (2002). Red tape: A review and assessment of concepts and measures. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 12, 553-580.
67.
PandeyS. K.StazykE. C. (2008). Antecedents and correlates of public service motivation. In PerryJ. L.HondeghemA. (Eds.), Motivation in public management: The call of public service (pp. 294-313). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
68.
PandeyS. K.WelchE. W. (2005). Beyond stereotypes: A multistage model of managerial perceptions of red tape. Administration and Society, 37, 542-575.
69.
PandeyS. K.WrightB. E. (2006). Connecting the dots in public management: Political environment, organizational goal ambiguity and the public manager’s role ambiguity. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 16, 511-532.
70.
PerryJ. L.PorterL. W. (1982). Factors affecting the context for motivation in public organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 7(1), 89-98.
71.
PerryJ. L.RaineyH. G. (1988). The public-private distinction in organizational theory: A critique and research strategy. Academy of Management Review, 13, 182-201.
72.
PfefferJ.SalancikG. R. (1978). The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
73.
PodaskoffP. M.WilliamsL. J.TodorW. D. (1986). Effects of organizational formalization on alienation among professionals and nonprofessionals. Academy of Management Journal, 29, 820-831.
74.
PowellD. M.MeyerJ. P. (2004). Side-bet theory and the three-component model of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65, 157-177.
75.
RadinB. (2002). The accountable juggler: The art of leadership in a federal agency. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.
76.
RaineyH. G. (1983). Public agencies and private firms: Incentive structures, goals and individual roles. Administration and Society, 15, 207-242.
77.
RaineyH. G. (1993). A theory of goal ambiguity in public organizations. In PerryJ. L., Research in public administration (pp. 121-166). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
78.
RaineyH. G. (2003). Understanding and managing public organizations (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
79.
RaineyH. G.BozemanB. (2000). Comparing public and private organizations: Empirical research and the power of the a priori. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 10, 447-470.
80.
RaineyH. G.ChunY. H. (2005). Public and private management compared. In FerlieE.LynnL. E.Jr.PollittC. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of public management (pp. 72-102). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
81.
RaineyH. G.FacerR.BozemanB. (1995, August 31-September 3). Repeated finding of sharp differences between public and private managers’ perceptions of personnel rules. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago.
82.
RaineyH. G.PandeyS. K.BozemanB. (1995). Public and private managers’ perceptions of red tape. Public Administration Review, 55, 567-574.
83.
RaineyH. G.SteinbauerP. (1999). Galloping elephants: Developing elements of a theory of effective government organizations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 9(9), 1-32.
84.
RamaswamiS. N.AgarwalS.BhargavaM. (1993). Work alienation of marketing employees: Influence of task, supervisory, and organizational structure factors. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21, 179-193.
85.
RizzoJ. R.HouseR. J.LirtzmanS. I. (1970). Role conflict and ambiguity in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 15, 150-163.
86.
RogersD. L.MolnarJ. (1976). Organizational antecedents of role conflict and ambiguity in top-level administrators. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 598-610.
87.
RomzekB. (1990). Employee investment and commitment: The ties that bind. Public Administration Review, 50, 374-382.
88.
ShamirB.HouseR. J.ArthurM. B. (1993). The motivational effects of charismatic leadership: A self-concept based theory. Organization Science, 4, 577-594.
89.
ShamirB.HowellJ. M. (1999). Organizational and contextual influences on the emergence and effectiveness of charismatic leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 10, 257-283.
90.
SolingerO. N.van OlffenW.RoeR. A. (2008). Beyond the three-component model of organizational commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 70-83.
91.
StarkA. (2011). The distinction between public, nonprofit, and for-profit: Revisiting the ‘‘core legal’’ approach. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory21(1), 3-26.
92.
StazykE. C.GoerdelH. T. (2010). The benefits of bureaucracy: Public managers’ perceptions of political support, goal ambiguity, and organizational effectiveness. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. Advance online publication. doi:10.1093/jopart/muq04710.1093/jopart/muq047.
93.
SteersR. M.PorterL. W. (1974). The role of task-goal attributes in employee performance. Psychological Bulletin, 81, 434-452.
94.
SteinhausC. S.PerryJ. L. (1996). Organizational commitment: Does sector matter?Public Performance and Management Review, 19, 278-288.
95.
SullivanJ. L.FeldmanS. (1979). Multiple indicators: An introduction. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
96.
ThompsonF. J.RiccucciN. M. (1998). Reinventing government. Annual Review of Political Science, 1, 231-257.
97.
ThompsonJ. D. (1967). Organizations in action. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
98.
VandenbergR. J.SelfR. M. (1993). Assessing newcomers’ changing commitments to the organization during the first 6 months of work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 557-568.
99.
WarwickD. P.MeadeM.ReedT. (1975). A theory of public bureaucracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
100.
WatermanR. W.RouseA. A.WrightR. L. (1998). The venues of influence: A new theory of political control of the bureaucracy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 8(1), 13-38.
101.
WatermanR. W.RouseA. A.WrightR. L. (Eds.). (2004). Bureaucrats, politics, and the environment. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
102.
WhortonJ. W.WorthleyJ. A. (1981). A perspective on the challenge of public management: Environmental paradox and organizational culture. Academy of Management Review, 6, 357-361.
103.
WildavskyA.B. (1990). Introduction: Administration without hierarchy? Bureaucracy without authority? In LynnN.WildavskyA. B. (Eds.), Public administration: The state of the discipline (pp. xiii-xix). Chatham, NJ: Chatham House.
104.
WilsonJ. Q. (1989). Bureaucracy: What government agencies do and why they do it. New York, NY: Basic Books.
105.
WilsonJ. Q. (1994). Reinventing public administration. PS: Political Science and Politics, 27, 667-673.
106.
WolfP. J. (1993). A case survey of bureaucratic effectiveness in U.S. cabinet agencies: Preliminary results. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 3, 161-181.
107.
WrightB. E. (2001). Public-sector work motivation: A review of the current literature and a revised conceptual model. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 11, 559-586.
108.
WrightB. E. (2004). The role of work context in work motivation: A public sector application of goal and social cognitive theories. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 14, 59-78.
109.
WrightB. E. (2007). Public service and motivation: Does mission matter?Public Administration Review, 67(1), 54-64.
110.
ZeffaneR. (1994). Patterns of organizational commitment and perceived management style: A comparison of public and private sector employees. Human Relations, 47, 977-1010.
