Multiple affective commitments: quitting intentions and job performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interactions and the usefulness of distinguishing among employees’ affective commitments (ACs) to the job, to the department, and to the organization in relation to the effects of quitting intentions and job performance. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a survey questionnaire in the Danish healthcare system ( n =496). Findings – First, the authors demonstrates that AC to the job, to the department, and to the organization is factorially distinct. Second, the authors finds that AC to the department is related to intention to quit the department and the organization, whereas AC to the job and to the organization is not when considered as part of the analysis. The authors test for interactions between AC to the job, to the department, and to the organization in relation to quitting intentions, and find these results to be non-significant. Third, the authors finds that AC to the job is more strongly related to job performance than AC to the department and to the organization. Furthermore, AC to the department and to the organization moderates the relationship between AC to the job and job performance. Practical implications – The results may suggest that practitioners could profit from considering AC toward the department when preventing employees’ quitting intentions. Further, practitioners could benefit from enhancing AC to different targets, especially to the job, in order to increase employees’ job performance. Originality/value – This research contributes to an understanding of how ACs to multiple workplace targets are different and how they interact.