Organizational moral commitment: A holistic view incorporating both norms and values

This article responds to recent calls to broaden the organizational commitment construct by incorporating moral values alongside traditional normative pressures. Situated within the field of organizational behavior and work psychology, we address the need to strengthen the ethical dimension of commitment by proposing a preliminary organizational commitment scale that integrates both norms and moral values, thus filling a gap in existing measurement tools. To validate this enhanced instrument, we conducted two empirical studies in distinct contexts—the Spanish ceramic tile industry and IT consultancy firms—following a multi-step process involving confirmatory factor analyses and tests of reliability, convergent/discriminant validity, and measurement invariance. Results show that the expanded scale demonstrates strong psychometric properties and operates consistently across demographic groups. Crucially, including moral values not only refines the conceptualization of normative commitment but also reveals practical benefits: employees scoring higher on value-based commitment report greater job satisfaction, lower turnover intentions, and stronger engagement in organizational citizenship behavior. These findings highlight how integrating moral values into commitment measures can help organizations design more ethically grounded interventions, improve retention strategies, and foster a culture of pro-social, value-driven behavior.