Toward a Theory of Organizational Commitment.
Abstract
Research on employee commitment to organizations has most often been cross-sectional in design. Although we have identified a number of antecedents of commitment, the processes through which employees become committed to organizations are still not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework of the commitment process. Organizational commitment is viewed as resulting from reciprocal relationships between behaviors and attitudes at work. The factors influencing the development of commitment are examined across three time periods relevant to the career of employees in organizations: pre-entry phase; early employment period; and middle and late career stages. Results from two previously unpublished longitudinal studies of the commitment process are presented and suggestions for future research are discussed. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA103358
Entities
People
- Lyman Porter
- Richard M. Steers
- Richard T. Mowday
Organizations
- University of Oregon