Organizational Commitment

Two models of the factors leading to organizational commitment are compared: the member-based model, which holds that commitment originates in the actions and personal attributes of the organizational member, and the organization-based model, which is based on the premise that commitment reflects a member's reciprocation for the organization's having provided resources that satisfy important needs. Although the latter model received more support from the data, both models explained significant amounts of variance in commitment. Contrary to the preponderance of related research findings, extrinsic aspects of satisfaction were more strongly associated with organizational commitment, than were intrinsic aspects. This finding was attributed to the composition of the respondent sample, a group of blue-collar, unionized employees.