Predicting Organizational and Union Commitment: The Effect of Industrial Relations Climate

Research evidence from North America shows that employees can be committed simultaneously to both their union and their company. Moreover, a co‐operative industrial relations climate has been seen to be conducive to the existence of higher levels of commitment to both organizations. This study utilized a sample of white‐collar unionists in Australia to identify whether union and company commitment could be predicted by the same factors and whether positive perceptions of the industrial relations climate were related to dual commitment. The research found no evidence of dual commitment. Furthermore, company and union commitment were predicted by different factors, and employee perceptions of a co‐operative industrial relations climate were associated with higher employee commitment to the company but lower commitment to the union.