P. Gregory Irving

A Three-Component Model of Customer to Service Providers:

Although research into the determinants of service provider switching has grown in recent years, the focus has been predominantly on transactional, not relational, variables. In this research, the authors address the role of consumer commitment on consumers’ intentions to switch. Drawing from the organizational behavior literature, they build on previous service switching research by developing a switching model that includes a three-component conceptualization of customer commitment. Structural equation modeling is used to test the model based on data from a survey of 356 auto repair service customers. The authors’ results support the notion that customer commitment affects intentions to switch service providers and that the psychological states underlying that commitment may differ. As such, future marketing research should consider these different forms of commitment in understanding customer retention. The implications of this model for theory and practice are discussed.

Examination of the combined effects of work values and early work experiences on organizational commitment

We tested the hypothesis that the influence of early work experiences on organization commitment would be moderated by the value employees place on these experiences. We measured work values in two samples of recent university graduates prior to organizational entry, and obtained measures of commensurate work experiences and three forms of commitment (affective, continuance, and normative: Allen and Meyer, 1990) on different occasions following entry. Regression analyses revealed that values and experiences did interact in the prediction of affective commitment and normative commitment, but that the nature of the interaction was different for different work value/experience combinations. The findings provide some challenge to the common sense assumption that positive work experiences will have the strongest effect on commitment among those who most value such experiences. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Further assessments of a three-component model of occupational commitment : Generalizability and differences across occupations

The authors assessed the factor structure of J. P. Meyer, N. J. Allen, and C. A. Smiths (1993) measure of occupational commitment based on responses from 232 employees (166 men and 66 women) in a variety of occupations within a single organization. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that 3 forms of occupational commitment are distinguishable (affective, continuance, and normative commitment) across occupations. The authors also examined correlates of the 3-component model as well as differences in occupational commitment levels across occupations. The 3 forms of occupational commitment relate differentially to a variety of variables, providing further evidence for the construct validity of J. P. Meyer et al.s model.

Disentangling the effects of promised and delivered inducements: relational and transactional contract elements and the mediating role of trust.

Psychological contracts contain both relational and transactional elements, each of which is associated with unique characteristics. In the present research, the authors drew on these distinct qualities to develop and test hypotheses regarding differential employee reactions to underfulfillment, fulfillment, and overfulfillment of relational and transactional promises. Further, the authors extended their test of the theoretical distinctions between relational and transactional contracts by assessing the relevance of trust as a key underlying mechanism of relational and transactional psychological contract breach effects. Participants in this 3-wave longitudinal study included 342 full-time temporary employees. In support of existing theoretical distinctions, results indicated that employees reacted differently to varying levels of fulfillment of their relational and transactional contracts and that trust is a more central mechanism of relational, as opposed to transactional, psychological contract breach effects. These findings underscore L.S. Lambert, J. R. Edwards, and D. M. Cables (2003) recent recommendation that the traditional conceptualization and study of psychological contract breach requires expansion.

Personality, Autonomy, and Contextual Performance of Managers

In a sample of 79 public-sector managers, we examined relations between personality (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness), job autonomy, and contextual performance, and tested the moderating role of autonomy on personality-performance relations. Criterion data were provided by supervisors using the relative percentile method (RPM). Moderated regression analyses revealed positive relations between autonomy on contextual performance, and positive relations between both extroversion and agreeableness and the criterion when job autonomy was high. Negative relations were found between conscientiousness and contextual performance, and between agreeableness and the criterion when autonomy was low. We interpreted and discussed these bidirectional findings within the context of job and organizational demands.

HRM Practices and Organizational Commitment Profiles

In this study, we examined how employee perceptions of development-oriented, stability-oriented, and reward-oriented human resource management (HRM) practices affected the likelihood of affective and continuance commitment profile membership. Our focus on profiles of combined commitment components is a departure from a literature dominated by studies of the separate forms of employee commitment. Drawing from self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan 2000) we described the nature of the psychological states believed to underlie the specific profiles under investigation, then tested a series of theoretical predictions concerning the link between HRM practices and the likelihood of profile membership. Predictor and criterion data for this study were collected from 317 respondents working in a variety of Canadian-based organizations. Our findings suggest ways that organizations can use HRM practices strategically to help shape the nature of overall employee commitment.

On Using Direct Measures of Met Expectations: A Methodological Note

We used multiple regression analysis to examine the joint and separate effects of pre-entry expectations and post-entry experiences on direct measures of met expectations for 259 organizational newcomers during the first year of employment. Results suggested that concerns about the use of direct measures of met expectations are warranted. Post-entry experiences had considerably more influence than pre-entry expectations on the way that individuals respond to met expectations measures. Furthermore, the amount of variance in measures of job satisfaction and turnover intentions accounted for by direct measures of met expectations was reduced considerably when controlling for perceptions of post-entry experiences.

The Relationship Between University Student Commitment Profiles and Behavior: Exploring the Nature of Context Effects

Theoretical concepts from the organizational behavior literature, including commitment, are rarely used to help explain university student behavior. The benefits of doing so might include the development of a synthesis of knowledge about the behavior of students in an organizational setting. Such a synthesis is important because it will help extend organizational commitment literature to student samples and will help explain student behavior as a result of their commitment. As such, the purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to test theoretical propositions advanced by Meyer and Herscovitch concerning the interactive effects of affective, normative, and continuance commitment on students’ focal and discretionary behaviors and (b) to provide an exploratory examination of the notion of a commitment profile “context effect” for normative commitment for students in a university setting. Study measures were gathered from a sample of 287 undergraduate business students. Results showed support for interactive effects of the three components of commitment for both focal and discretionary behavior. Results also showed support for commitment profile differences and for the existence of a normative commitment context effect.

Predictors of Later Generation Family Members’ Commitment to Family Enterprises

This study examines the antecedents of different bases of organizational commitment and intention to stay of later–generation family members who are currently working in their family firm. Evidence from 199 Canadian and Swiss firms indicates that when these individuals’ identity and career interests are aligned with their family enterprise, they experience affective commitment. Family expectations are associated with normative commitment. Individuals who are concerned about losing inherited financial wealth or who perceive a lack of alternative career paths stay with the family enterprise because of continuance commitment. Finally, individuals driven by desire or obligation exhibit low turnover intentions.

Behavioural outcomes of next-generation family members’ commitment to their firm

Are there variations in behaviours and leadership styles of next-generation family members or descendants who join their family business due to different forms of commitment? Evidence from a dual respondent study of 109 Canadian and Swiss family firms suggests that descendants with affective commitment to their family firms are more likely to engage in discretionary activities going beyond the job description, thereby contributing to organizational performance. Next-generation members with normative commitment are more likely to engage in transformational leadership behaviours. Both affectively and normatively motivated next-generation members use contingent reward forms of leadership. A surprising finding of this study is the binding force of normative commitment on positive leadership behaviours of next-generation members. This study empirically tests the generalizability of the three-component model of commitment to family businesses, a context in which different forms of commitment may play a unique role.