Organizational commitment and identification: An examination of conceptual and operational convergence

Organizational commitment and identification are two constructs that communication researchers currently utilize to study the employee‐organization relationship. A review of the literature reveals that the terms commitment and identification have distinct meanings, although they have been developed as virtual synonyms. This is especially true when comparing attitudinal commitment with identification as product. The review indicates that contemporary conceptualizations and operationalizations of attitudinal commitment (e.g., Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982) and identification as product (e.g., Cheney, 1983a) reference the same cluster of attitudes. Additionally, an empirical study reported herein found that commitment and identification correlated consistently and similarly with relevant attitudinal, tenure, and demographic variables. This investigation concludes that communication scholars are advised to refer to identification as a process and commitment as an outcome of that process.