Abusive supervision and subordinates' organization deviance.

The authors developed an integrated model of the relationships among abusive supervision, affective organizational commitment, norms toward organization deviance, and organization deviance and tested the framework in 2 studies: a 2-wave investigation of 243 supervised employees and a cross-sectional study of 247 employees organized into 68 work groups. Path analytic tests of mediated moderation provide support for the prediction that the mediated effect of abusive supervision on organization deviance (through affective commitment) is stronger when employees perceive that their coworkers are more approving of organization deviance (Study 1) and when coworkers perform more acts of organization deviance (Study 2). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leader–member exchange and affective organizational commitment: The contribution of supervisor's organizational embodiment.

In order to account for wide variation in the relationship between leader–member exchange and employees' affective organizational commitment, we propose a concept termed supervisor's organizational embodiment (SOE), which involves the extent to which employees identify their supervisor with the organization. With samples of 251 social service employees in the United States (Study 1) and 346 employees in multiple Portuguese organizations (Study 2), we found that as SOE increased, the association between leader–member exchange and affective organizational commitment became greater. This interaction carried through to in-role and extra-role performance. With regard to antecedents, we found in Study 1 that supervisor's self-reported identification with the organization increased supervisor's expression of positive statements about the organization, which in turn increased subordinates' SOE. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocation of perceived organizational support.

Four hundred thirteen postal employees were surveyed to investigate reciprocation's role in the relationships of perceived organizational support (POS) with employees' affective organizational commitment and job performance. The authors found that (a) POS was positively related to employees' felt obligation to care about the organization's welfare and to help the organization reach its objectives; (b) felt obligation mediated the associations of POS with affective commitment, organizational spontaneity, and in-role performance; and (c) the relationship between POS and felt obligation increased with employees' acceptance of the reciprocity norm as applied to work organizations. Positive mood also mediated the relationships of POS with affective commitment and organizational spontaneity. The pattern of findings is consistent with organizational support theory's assumption that POS strengthens affective commitment and performance by a reciprocation process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance Differences Among Four Organizational Commitment Profiles.

The authors drew from prior research on organizational commitment and from configural organizational theory to propose a framework of affective and continuance commitment profiles. Using cluster analyses, the authors obtained evidence for 4 of these profiles in an energy industry sample (N=970) and a sample of 345 employed college students. The authors labeled the clusters: allied (i.e., moderate affective and continuance commitment), free agents (moderate continuance commitment and low affective commitment), devoted (high affective and continuance commitment), and complacent (moderate affective and low continuance commitment). Using a subset of the employed student sample (n=148), the authors also found that the free agents received significantly poorer supervisor ratings of performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and antisocial behavior than any other group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of service provider attitudes and employment status on citizenship behaviors and customers' attitudes and loyalty behavior.

The relationship among job satisfaction, affective commitment, service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty were examined for a sample of 249 hairstylists and 1 of their corresponding customers. Employee satisfaction was positively related to service-oriented OCBs, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty, whereas affective commitment was not related to these outcomes. The extent to which the predictor variables interacted with one another and the role of employment status on these relationships was also explored. High levels of job satisfaction or affective commitment resulted in more service-oriented OCBs for employees and self-employed workers, whereas high levels of both resulted in more service-oriented OCBs for owners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commitment and employee behavior: Comparison of affective commitment and continuance commitment with perceived organizational support.

The social exchange view of commitment (R. Eisenberger et al, 1986) suggests that employees' perceptions of the organization's commitment to them (perceived organizational support [POS]) creates feelings of obligation to the employer, which enhances employees' work behavior. The authors addressed the question of whether POS or the more traditional commitment concepts of affective commitment (AC) and continuance commitment (CC) were better predictors of employee behavior (organizational citizenship and impression management). Participants were 383 employees and their managers. Although results showed that both AC and POS were positively related to organizational citizenship and that CC was negatively related to organizational citizenship, POS was the best predictor. These findings support the social exchange view that POS creates feelings of obligation that contribute to citizenship behaviors. In addition, CC was unrelated, whereas AC and POS were positively correlated, with some impression management behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective commitment to the organization: The contribution of perceived organizational support.

Three studies examined the interrelationships among work experiences, perceived organizational support (POS), affective commitment (AC), and employee turnover. Using a diverse sample of 367 employees drawn from a variety of organizations, Study 1 found that POS mediated positive associations of organizational rewards, procedural justice, and supervisor support with AC. Study 2 examined changes of POS and AC in retail employees over a 2-year span (N?=?333) and a 3-year span (N?=?226). POS was positively related to temporal changes in AC, suggesting that POS leads to AC. Study 3 found a negative relationship between POS and subsequent voluntary employee turnover that was mediated by AC in retail employees (N?=?1,124) and in poultry- and feed-processing workers (N?=?262). These results suggest that favorable work conditions operate via POS to increase AC, which, in turn, decreases employee withdrawal behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderators of the Relationships Between Coworkers' Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Fellow Employees' Attitudes.

The authors developed and tested the prediction that the relationship hetween coworkers' organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and fellow employees' attitudes depends on the supervisors' abusiveness. Results of a longitudinal study using data collected from 173 supervised employees at 2 points in time (separated by 7 months) suggested that coworkers' OCB was positively related to fellow employees' job satisfaction and affective commitment when abusive supervision was low. However, when abusive supervision was high, coworkers' OCB was negatively related to job satisfaction and was unrelated to organizational commitment. The results of a 2nd study were consistent with the idea that the attributions employees make for their coworkers' OCB explains the moderating effect of abusive supervision on the relationship between coworkers' OCB and job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do the weary care about racioethnic similarity? The role of emotional exhaustion in relational demography.

Diversity theorists have hypothesized that similarity leads to both greater identification among individuals and reduced interpersonal conflict within organizations. Little research, however, has been conducted to identify boundary conditions for this relationship. The authors investigated the interactive effects of supervisor–subordinate racioethnic similarity and emotional exhaustion on organizational commitment in two studies. In Study 1, racioethnic supervisor–subordinate similarity related positively to commitment, but only among employees low in emotional exhaustion. In Study 2, we observed a significant indirect effect of racioethnic similarity on loyalty through supervisor support. Moreover, the support–loyalty linkage was significantly stronger for employees low in emotional exhaustion. Thus, the effects of supervisor–subordinate racioethnic similarity on employee commitment appear contingent upon employee emotional exhaustion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job insecurity and employability in fixed-term contractors, agency workers, and permanent workers: Associations with job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment.

This study investigates how job insecurity and employability relate to job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment in permanent workers, fixed-term contract workers, and temporary agency workers. The authors hypothesized that (a) job insecurity relates negatively to job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment, and this relationship is strongest in permanent workers and weakest in temporary agency workers; and that (b) employability relates positively to job satisfaction and negatively to affective organizational commitment, and this relationship is strongest in temporary agency workers and weakest in permanent workers. Hypotheses were tested in workers (permanent: n = 329; fixed term; n = 160; temporary agency: n = 89) from 23 Belgian organizations. The results show that job insecurity related negatively to the outcomes for permanent workers and temporary agency workers. This relationship was not significant for fixed-term contract workers. Employability related negatively to the outcomes for fixed-term contract workers and temporary agency workers, and this relationship was not significant for permanent workers. The 3 groups had different interpretations of what constitutes a stressor and about what signals a good employment relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing the "side-bet theory" of organizational commitment: Some methodological considerations.

Two studies were conducted to demonstrate that both the instruments used to measure commitment—those scales developed by G. Ritzes and H. M. Trice (1969) and by L. G. Hrebiniak and J. A. Alutto (see record 1973-12150-001)—and the side-bet indexes (age and tenure) used in previous tests of the side-bet theory of H. S. Becker are inappropriate for that purpose. In Study 1, 64 undergraduate scenarios in which an employee was described as being high or low in continuance commitment and high or low in affective commitment and responded to several commitment instruments as they felt the employee would respond. As expected, the continuance commitment manipulation accounted for a relatively small portion of the variance in scores on the 2 commitment scales, whereas the affective commitment manipulation accounted for a substantially larger portion. The continuance manipulation did, however, account for a large portion of the variance in scores on an author-developed continuance commitment scale (CCS). In Study 2, 130 university employees completed the same commitment instruments. As predicted, the 2 commitment scales correlated significantly with measures of affective commitment but not with the CCS. Also as predicted, age and tenure correlated with the commitment scales and with the affective commitment measures but not with the CCS. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Moderating Influence of Procedural Fairness on the Relationship Between Work-Life Conflict and Organizational Commitment.

To help employees better manage work-life conflict, organizations have introduced various initiatives, which have met with mixed results. The present studies examined the utility of a procedurally based approach to understanding employees' reactions to work-life conflict. The authors examined whether the fairness of procedures used by organizational authorities to plan and implement decisions moderates the (inverse) relationship between work-life conflict and employees' organizational commitment. Three studies using different methodologies showed support for the moderating role played by procedural fairness. That is, the tendency for greater work-life conflict to lead to lower commitment was significantly less pronounced when procedural fairness was high rather than low. Theoretical contributions to the work-life conflict and organizational justice literatures are discussed, as are practical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Different fits satisfy different needs: Linking person-environment fit to employee commitment and performance using self-determination theory.

Integrating and expanding upon the person-environment fit (PE fit) and the self-determination theory literatures, the authors hypothesized and tested a model in which the satisfaction of the psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence partially mediated the relations between different types of perceived PE fit (i.e., person-organization fit, person-group fit, and job demands-abilities fit) with employee affective organizational commitment and overall job performance. Data from 163 full-time working employees and their supervisors were collected across 3 time periods. Results indicate that different types of PE fit predicted different types of psychological need satisfaction and that psychological need satisfaction predicted affective commitment and performance. Further, person-organization fit and demands-abilities fit also evidenced direct effects on employee affective commitment. These results begin to explicate the processes through which different types of PE fit relate to employee attitudes and behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support and employee diligence, commitment, and innovation.

Two studies report a positive relationship of employees' perception of being valued and cared about by the organization with (a) conscientiousness in carrying out conventional job responsibilities, (b) expressed affective and calculative involvements in the organization, and (c) innovation on behalf of the organization in the absence of anticipated direct reward or personal recognition. In Study 1, involving six occupations, positive relationships of perceived support with job attendance and performance were found. In Study 2, using manufacturing hourly employees and managers, perceived support was positively related to affective attachment, performance outcome expectancies, and the constructiveness of anonymous suggestions for helping the organization. These results favor the extension and integration of emotion-based and calculative theories of organizational commitment into a social-exchange approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature.

The authors reviewed more than 70 studies concerning employees' general belief that their work organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support; POS). A meta-analysis indicated that 3 major categories of beneficial treatment received by employees (i.e., fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards and favorable job conditions) were associated with POS. POS, in turn, was related to outcomes favorable to employees (e.g., job satisfaction, positive mood) and the organization (e.g., affective commitment, performance, and lessened withdrawal behavior). These relationships depended on processes assumed by organizational support theory: employees' belief that the organization's actions were discretionary, feeling of obligation to aid the organization, fulfillment of socioemotional needs, and performance-reward expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors and outcomes of workplace violence and aggression.

The authors developed and assessed the psychometric properties of an instrument measuring risk for workplace violence and expanded a model linking (a) risk and experience of violence and aggression from the public and (b) experience of aggression from coworkers to emotional well-being, psychosomatic well-being, affective commitment, and turnover intentions. Using data from 254 employees representing 71 different occupations, the measure demonstrated acceptable within-occupation and 1-month test-retest reliability. The data supported the model and showed that public-initiated violence and aggression and coworker-initiated aggression were differentially associated with personal and organizational outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Engagement envers le supérieur et l'organisation, et rétention des employés: Le r?le modérateur de l'identité organisationnelle per?ue du supérieur.

The authors examined the relationships of commitments to organisations and supervisors with turnover intentions and turnover, as a function of supervisors' perceived organisational identity. In Study 1, the authors show that commitment to supervisors is associated with reduced turnover intentions only when employees perceive their supervisors to possess strong organisational identity, whilst organisational commitment is associated with lower turnover intentions irrespective of the strength of supervisors' perceived organisational identity. In Study 2, the authors demonstrate that when employees perceive their supervisors to possess strong organisational identity, only commitment to supervisors predicts voluntary turnover, whilst when supervisors are viewed as possessing weak organisational identity, only organisational commitment predicts turnover. The implications of this research for the study of commitment-turnover relationships are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support.

Administered a survey of perceived organizational support (SPOS) to 361 employees (among them postal clerks, financial trust company employees, and manufacturing firm workers) and 71 private high school teachers in 2 studies. Teachers also completed an exchange-ideology questionnaire that measured their belief that work effort should depend on treatment by the organization. Results show that (a) employees in an organization form global beliefs concerning the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being, (b) such perceived organizational support reduces absenteeism, and (c) the relation between perceived organizational support and absenteeism is greater for employees with a strong exchange ideology than those with a weak ideology. These findings support the social exchange view that employees' commitment to the organization is strongly influenced by their perception of the organization's commitment to them. Perceived organizational support is assumed to increase the employee's affective attachment to the organization and his/her expectancy that greater effort toward meeting organizational goals will be rewarded. It is concluded that the extent to which these factors increase work effort depends on the strength of the employee's exchange ideology favoring the trade of work effort for material and symbolic benefits. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective and continuance commitment to the organization: Evaluation of measures and analysis of concurrent and time-lagged relations.

The factor structure of the Affective and Continuance Commitment Scales (ACS and CCS; J. P. Meyer and N. J. Allen; see record 1984-32952-001), as well as the causal links between affective and continuance commitment, were examined. Data were obtained from 2 employee samples on a single occasion and from a sample of new employees on 3 occasions during their 1st yr of employment. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that (a) the ACS and CCS measure different constructs and (b) the CCS can be divided into 2 highly related subscales reflecting costs associated with leaving the organization (lack of alternatives and personal sacrifice). Tests of nonrecursive causal models with cross-sectional data revealed that (a) affective commitment had a negative effect on the alternatives component of continuance commitment in all samples and (b) both components of continuance commitment had a positive effect on affective commitment for established employees. Analyses of the longitudinal data revealed only a weak, negative, time-lagged effect of the alternatives component on affective commitment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Career-oriented versus team-oriented commitment and behavior at work.

Among a representative sample of the Dutch population (Study 1: N?=?690), career-oriented and team-oriented commitment were assessed, in addition to affective organizational commitment (J. P. Meyer and N. J. Allen, 1991). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed distinction between the 2 specific forms of commitment at the measurement level. Furthermore, the construct validity of team-oriented and career-oriented commitment as well as their differential implications were corroborated by self-reports of work-related behavior 1 year later. The distinction between career-oriented and team-oriented commitment was then cross-validated in a 2nd study, among employees of a financial service organization in Belgium (N?=?287), in which the constructs proved to be not only differentially related to self-reported behavior at work, but also predictive of performance ratings by superiors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)