The Role of Change in the Relationship Between Commitment and Turnover: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach.

Through the use of affective, normative, and continuance commitment in a multivariate 2nd-order factor latent growth modeling approach, the authors observed linear negative trajectories that characterized the changes in individuals across time in both affective and normative commitment. In turn, an individual's intention to quit the organization was characterized by a positive trajectory. A significant association was also found between the change trajectories such that the steeper the decline in an individual's affective and normative commitments across time, the greater the rate of increase in that individual's intention to quit, and, further, the greater the likelihood that the person actually left the organization over the next 9 months. Findings regarding continuance commitment and its components were mixed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of the role of perceived support and employee commitment in employee-customer encounters.

The authors examined the relationships between perceived organizational support, organizational commitment, commitment to customers, and service quality in a fast-food firm. The research design matched customer responses with individual employees' attitudes, making this study a true test of the service provider-customer encounter. On the basis of a sample of matched employee-customer data (N = 133), hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that perceived organizational support had both a unit-level and an employee-level effect on 1 dimension of service quality: helping behavior. Contrary to affective organizational commitment, affective commitment to customers enhanced service quality. The 2 subdimensions of continuance commitment to the organization--perceived high sacrifice and perceived lack of alternatives--exerted effects opposite in sign: The former fostered service quality, whereas the latter reduced it. The implications of these findings are discussed within the context of research on employee-customer encounters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kinetic modeling of miniemulsion nitroxide mediated polymerization of styrene: Effect of particle diameter and nitroxide partitioning up to high conversion

The miniemulsion polymerization of styrene mediated by N-(2-methyl-2-propyl)-N-(1-diethylphosphono-2,2-dimethylpropyl)-N-oxyl (SG1) at 396 K is modeled up to high conversion as a function of the targeted chain length (TCL) and particle diameter. Thermal self-initiation and diffusional limitations are explicitly accounted for. The importance of the compartmentalization of nitroxide, initiator and macroradicals and of nitroxide partitioning is assessed using 3-dimensional Smith-Ewart equations. Diffusional limitations on termination are important for higher particle diameters only (>～70 nm). The influence of diffusional limitations on deactivation, however, can be significant even for intermediate particles diameters (～40 nm). For a TCL of 300, low particle diameters (<～20 nm) provide theoretically both a better livingness and control over chain length compared to the bulk case at the expense of a significant reduction of the polymerization rate. For a sufficiently high particle diameter (～30 nm), a rate acceleration can be obtained accompanied by an improved livingness but with a somewhat reduced control over chain length. For TCLs higher than 300, better overall average polymer properties can be achieved up to particle diameters of ～ 50 nm. Nitroxide partitioning is shown to lead on average to a limited increase of the polymerization rate without significantly affecting the average polymer properties.