Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Unpacking commitment: multiple loyalties and employee behaviour

Redman, T.; Snape, E.

Authors

T. Redman



Abstract

We present findings from three UK studies on the nature and consequences of employees' multiple commitments in the workplace, with samples drawn from private manufacturing, private services and the public sector. Co-workers, the union, the union representative, customers, and the immediate boss emerge as separate foci of commitment, distinct from 'global' commitment to the organization as a whole. Consistent with social exchange theory, attitudinal and behavioural outcomes are predicted by commitment to those foci that might be expected to benefit from the outcome in question. There is evidence that global organizational commitment mediates the relationship between foci-specific commitments and organization-related outcomes, but there is no mediation in the case of those foci and outcomes that are more cognitively distant from the organization. A comparison of the studies suggests that the pattern and outcomes of commitment are influenced by the nature of the job and of the work context.

Citation

Redman, T., & Snape, E. (2005). Unpacking commitment: multiple loyalties and employee behaviour. Journal of Management Studies, 42(2), 301-328. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00498.x

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Mar 1, 2005
Deposit Date Jul 19, 2007
Journal Journal of Management Studies
Print ISSN 0022-2380
Electronic ISSN 1467-6486
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 42
Issue 2
Pages 301-328
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00498.x
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1600971