Disentangling organizational commitment - The dangers of the OCQ for research and policy

Much of commitment research is based on the belief that the concept consists of three different aspects: identification, desire to stay and extra effort. Shows that the three-dimensional concept is misleading. Confirmatory factor analysis suggests that the organizational commitment: questionnaire (OCQ) is not homogenous, but consists of three separate concepts. This is confirmed by correlational analysis with theoretically relevant variables which reveals that identification, desire to stay and extra effort are associated with different antecedents. The poor research output to date on organizational commitment can be explained by reference to the small weight given to discretionary effort in the OCQ, the most widely used commitment scale. Discusses implications for research and management policies.