Review of Commitment in the workplace: Theory, research, and application.

Abstract

John Meyer and Natalie Allen produced a very well-written and interesting book on the topic of organizational commitment. They bring a conceptual framework a area that seems been largely atheoretical. Their own theoretically derived and systematic program spans two decades of research. In this book, Meyer and Allen carefully and methodically introduce their three-component conceptualization of work commitment and review empirical work either emanating from or relevant their model.The book, however, offers far more than simply a review of their model and an impressive body of empirical work. Perhaps its greatest contribution is how Meyer and Allen critically evaluate the construct of work commitment and demonstrate how multidimensional and complex the construct really is. First, although the substance of Meyer and Allen's work is on commitment the employing organization, they note that the concept of commitment is also highly relevant when considering commitment such entities as work teams, departments, and unions, just name a few.Although the authors raise more questions than they provide answers concerning the implications of multiple entities for both theory development and in the area of commitment, the questions are fundamentally important ones. By identifying some of the theoretical and, ultimately, empirical complexities introduced when multiple entities are considered, Meyer and Allen give the reader a framework for thinking about future needs in this area. For example, as I read their discussion of the inherent dependencies across the various entities, I began wonder how, for example, commitment a work team may or may not influence the development of commitment the organization as a whole. On many occasions while reading this book, I found my research idea meter on high alert. Given that I do not specifically work in this area, I think this underscores just how thought provoking the book really is. I am certain that researchers in this area, as well as anyone interested in the topic of work commitment, will find that the book does an exemplary job of raising both conceptual and methodological issues which inspire future ideas.The authors introduce a second layer of complexity insofar as they develop a conceptualization of commitment consisting of three components, and each of these may be manifested at the organizational or other (e.g., work-unit) levels/entities. They carefully define each component; however, they also provide a very succinct way of understanding each component which I will borrow here. (a) Affective commitment is the want stay component. If affectively committed, the employee is emotionally attached and identifies with the organization. (b) Continuance commitment is the have stay component. This type of commitment is based upon the employee's analysis of the costs associated with leaving the organization. Thus, for example, the employee may be committed simply because of the prohibitive costs associated with leaving. (c) Normative commitment is the ought to component. That is, the employee feels a sense of obligation or duty the organization and thus feels that it would be wrong leave.For each of the three components of commitment, Meyer and Allen review some of the personal and organizational consequences of commitment, the hypothesized antecedents of commitment, and the implications of various Human Resource Management (HRM) practices (e.g., training) for effecting commitment. Almost entirely absent is a discussion of the role of job satisfaction, either as an antecedent variable or as a consequence of commitment. …