Organizational commitment and job performance: It's the nature of the commitment that counts.

In this study, we examined relations between the performance of first-level managers in a large food service company and their affective commitment (i.e., emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization), continuance commitment (i.e., perceived costs associated with leaving the company), and job satisfaction. Commitment and satisfaction scores were correlated with three indexes of performance obtained from the managers' immediate supervisors. As predicted, affective commitment correlated positively and continuance commitment correlated negatively with all three measures of performance. Job satisfaction did not correlate significantly with performance ratings. The findings are interpreted as illustrating the importance of distinguishing between commitment based on desire and commitment based on need and as supporting organizational efforts to foster affective commitment in their employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between membership decline and union commitment: A field study of local unions in crisis.

In this field study, I examined relationships between membership decline in 20 locals affiliated with a large industrial union and commitment as measured by a short-form version of the Union Commitment Scale (L. Friedman and R. J. Harvey; see record 1986-28952-001). Commitment level was positively related to percentage of decline, with members in locals with more severe membership losses reporting higher commitment than members in locals with less severe or no losses. Also examined was the influence of decline on satisfaction with company and with union, as well as attitudes toward past and future strike activity. Satisfaction results were partially consistent with union–management climate influences on dual commitment. Results on strike attitudes were generally consistent with results on decline and commitment. Findings are interpreted as illustrating predictable adjustments made by union members in support of local activity under crisis conditions. The need for further field studies to explore the impact of prolonged crisis on union–management relations is stressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validation of a measure of perceived union support.

Research on union member attitudes has focused chiefly on union commitment and union instrumentality, which has provided a limited view of the relationship of the union with its members. In this study a confirmatory factor analysis was done to evaluate the construct validity of a measure of perceived union support by examining its distinctiveness from union commitment and union instrumentality. A total of 287 members of a large telecommunications local in the Midwest completed a survey of union member attitudes. Results showed that perceived union support was a unidimensional scale that was distinct from union loyalty and union instrumentality. However, all three of these constructs were correlated, suggesting the need for future research to examine potential causal linkages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological involvement in the union.

Based on data from 233 union stewards (mean age 41 yrs), the authors developed a 5-item measure of psychological involvement in the union. Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the scale is both unidimensional and distinct from union commitment. Correlation and regression analyses suggest that, after controlling for 3 dimensions of union commitment, psychological involvement in the union makes a unique contribution to the prediction of union-relevant criteria. Suggestions for the further development and use of the measure are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of early socialization on union commitment and participation: A longitudinal study.

New members of a union (N?=?305) were surveyed twice over a 1-year period to assess the effects of institutional and individual socialization practices on union commitment and participation. Whereas individual socialization practices were found to impact on both affective and behavioral involvement in the union, institutional socialization practices were shown to be ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A closer look at the relationship between justice perceptions and union participation.

In this study, a series of nested models was tested to assess the extent to which the relationship between process-related justice and union participation is mediated by perceived union support and union commitment. Members of a steelworkers' local (N=615) participated in the study. Fit indices most strongly supported a fully mediated model. Unlike previous research, process-related justice was operationalized as 2 distinct variables: procedural and interactional justice. Interactional justice was found to have a substantially stronger relationship with support perceptions than procedural justice. Results also indicated union support accounted for a greater amount of unique variance in union commitment than perceived union instrumentality. The results are discussed in relation to trust theory and the generalization of organization science across different types of organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Construct of Work Commitment: Testing an Integrative Framework.

This study meta-analytically examined extensive literature associated with work commitment. The primary purposes were to (a) cumulate correlations among dimensions of work commitment to see which were intercorrelated and (b) determine impact of work commitment dimensions and subdimensions on specific outcome variables (job satisfaction, job performance, turnover intentions, and turnover). Results were cumulated across 997 articles. The positive manifold of correlations suggests the presence of a common psychological construct underlying different commitment forms, with the exception of calculative, continuance, and union commitment. Most of the 94 meta-analyzed correlations were small, suggesting that concept redundancy is not a major concern. Meta-analyses of the correlations of 24 commitment constructs with 4 outcome variables suggest that different commitment forms have similar patterns of correlations with outcome variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The factor structure of Union Commitment: An application of confirmatory factor analysis.

M. E. Gordon et al. (see record 1980-33572-001) developed a Union Commitment scale and identified four underlying factors. L. Friedman and R. J. Harvey (see record 1986-28952-001), in a reanalysis of the Gordon et al. data, concluded that union commitment was best represented by two factors. Although several investigations have replicated the Gordon et al. factor structure, none of these have used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In the present study we used CFA to test the explanatory power of the two a priori factor structures. A sample of 465 blue-collar workers working for a large utility company in the midwestern United States participated in this investigation. The results suggest that, first, a modified version of Gordon et al.'s four-factor solution provides a better representation of the factor structure of union commitment. Second, the use of either the four-factor solution or commitment as a unidimensional construct may be justified, depending on the research focus. Finally, we found that unit weighting of the union commitment items was the most appropriate strategy for generating composites. The implication of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships of stress to individually and organizationally valued states: Higher order needs as a moderator.

Data from 79 male and 64 female members of a white-collar union employed in drafting, mechanical, and technical-clerical jobs in a midwestern manufacturing company show that some effects of role stresses on individually valued states were incompatible with their effects on 3 organizationally valued motivational states: involvement, effort toward quantity, and effort toward quality. Specifically, role overload was correlated positively with organizationally valued outcomes, but also with 3 adverse individual outcomes: job dissatisfaction, fatigue, and tension. Two other role stresses, role ambiguity and nonparticipation, had adverse effects on both individually and organizationally valued psychological states. Relationships between role stresses and individually valued outcomes were moderated by higher order need strength. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Participative goal-setting: Social, motivational, and cognitive factors.

Examined 3 explanations of why participation in goal setting may lead to increased performance—the social factor of group discussion, the motivational factor of involvement in goal setting, and the cognitive factor of information. A 2?×?2?×?2 experimental design (low and high levels of group discussion, involvement, and information) was used to study 96 predominantly male white collar employees (aged 23–58 yrs) who worked on a simulated personnel selection task. Results indicate that the social and motivational factors of participation increased performance quantity, incidental learning, goal acceptance, group commitment, and satisfaction. The motivational and cognitive factors significantly contributed to performance quality but the cognitive factor did not significantly affect performance quantity and work attitudes. It is suggested that a combination of the 3 factors leads to the highest level of performance. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methodological Challenges in Union Commitment Studies.

Methodological problems in studies of union commitment were identified and illustrated with data from 4,641 members and 479 stewards in 297 local teachers' unions. Using a 20-item union commitment scale, results confirmed the existence of 3 substantive factors and 1 method factor at the individual level of analysis: loyalty to the union, responsibility to the union, willingness to work for the union, and a factor of negatively worded items. Tests of measurement invariance showed that the scale captured commitment for rank-and-file members but not for union stewards. The authors also found partial measurement invariance between long-time and newer members and full measurement invariance between men and women. Finally, the authors found that violation of the statistical assumption of independence reduced model fit when individual commitment scores were analyzed without attention to the hierarchical nature of the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Union Commitment and Participation: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study.

The authors longitudinally investigated the causal nature of the relationship between union commitment and participation in informal union activities. A total of 134 members of the National Association of Letter Carriers were studied over a 10-year period. Using cross-lagged regression analysis, early union commitment was found to predict the level of informal union participation 10 years later. The reverse and reciprocal relationships were not supported. These findings support and extend earlier research on the causal nature of the short-term relationship between union commitment and participation. The implications of the findings for researchers and labor unions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 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)     

Conflict and organizational commitments.

Used a multiple constituency framework to examine the correlates (antecedents) of organizational commitment among 124 mental health professionals (mean age 28 yrs). Ss completed a constituency endorsement measure and an organizational commitment questionnaire. Conflicts among multiple commitments and multiple commitments to several constituencies (3 internal and 1 external) were correlated with global organizational commitment. Results indicate that the perceived conflict between individual and managerial goal orientations was significantly associated with organizational commitment. In addition, only commitment to top management's goals was positively associated with commitment to the organization. It is suggested that commitments may develop over time and should therefore be studied longitudinally. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents and outcomes of union loyalty: A constructive replication and an extension.

Primary data obtained from unionized employees in Singapore were used to examine P. A. Bamberger, A. N. Kluger, and R. Suchard's (1999) integrative model of the antecedents and outcomes of union commitment. Structural equation modeling results revealed support for their integrative model. Specifically, the results revealed the influence of job satisfaction on union loyalty to be indirect through organizational commitment. However, the union-related antecedents (union socialization and union instrumentality) were both directly and indirectly related to union loyalty through pro-union attitudes. In addition, union loyalty was related to the individually and organizationally directed union citizenship behavior dimensions. Limitations of the study and implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A factor analytic study on the validity of a union commitment scale.

A 28-item version of the union commitment scale developed by M. E. Gordon et al (see record 1980-33572-001) and by R. T. Ladd et al (see record 1983-02449-001) was administered to 98 Black and 104 White South African miners. Using a factor analytic technique, 5 orthogonal factors were extracted: Union Loyalty, Responsibility to the Union, Organization/Work Loyalty, Belief in the Union, and Union Instrumentality. There were no significant racial differences in the dimensionality of union commitment, although Blacks showed lower Responsibility to the Union. The concurrent validity of the constructs of commitment was supported by correlations between the factors of union commitment and measures of behavioral participation. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A model of union participation: The impact of perceived union support, union instrumentality, and union loyalty.

Perceived union support and union instrumentality have been shown to uniquely predict union loyalty. This study was the first to explicitly examine the relation between perceived union support and union instrumentality. Surveys were completed by 273 union members and 29 union stewards. A comparison of 2 models, 1 based on organizational support theory and 1 based on union participation theories, found that the model based on organizational support theory, in which union instrumentality was an antecedent to perceived union support and led to union loyalty and subsequently union participation, best fit the data. The model based on union participation theories, in which perceived union support was an antecedent of union instrumentality and led to union loyalty and subsequently union participation, was not supported. Union instrumentality was related to union commitment, but the relation was completely mediated by perceived union support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediators of telephone-based continuing care for alcohol and cocaine dependence.

A previous randomized trial with 224 alcohol and/or cocaine addicts who had completed an initial phase of treatment indicated that 12 weeks of telephone-based continuing care yielded higher abstinence rates over 24 months than did group counseling continuing care. The current study examined mediators of this treatment effect. Results suggested that self-help involvement during treatment and self-efficacy and commitment to abstinence 3 months after treatment mediated subsequent abstinence outcomes. These analyses controlled for substance use prior to the assessment of mediators. Conversely, there was no evidence that self-help beliefs or social support mediated the treatment effect. These results are consistent with a model in which treatment effects are first accounted for by changes in behavior, followed by changes in self-efficacy and in commitment to abstinence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Déterminants de la persistance conjugale chez des personnes vivant en première et en seconde union conjugale.

This study evaluates some determinants of conjugal persistence in duplicating results of the Investment Model, extending it using the Three-Dimensional Model of commitment and the Marital Instability Index. A sample of 110 married and cohabiting people living a first conjugal union and of 91, living a second (or more) union, completed these questionnaires. The results of multiple, logistic, and stepwise regressions showed the value of two different models of couple persistence, the first one only suitable for people in second (or more) union and the second one, applicable to both types of union. Finally, the study underlined the mediation of commitment level and attractive commitment in Couple Persistence Models. The discussion highlights the importance to consider these models in prevention and intervention programs with persons of both types of union. Theses results justify the importance to keep on conducting studies comparing these two types of union and suggest the possibility to assess additional intermediate factors between satisfaction and union duration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exchange Ideology and Member-Union Relationships: An Evaluation of Moderation Effects.

Based on studies of unionized nurses and water workers in the United Kingdom, perceived union support was associated with union commitment, union citizenship behaviors, and intent to quit union membership and switch unions. Instrumentality was less significant as an antecedent of most of these outcomes. In contrast to earlier findings on organization-employee exchange, although accounting for a relatively small percentage of variance, exchange ideology negatively moderated several of the relationships between support and instrumentality, on one hand, and commitment and union citizenship behaviors, on the other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)