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Organizational Commitment

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Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research

Synonyms

Involvement in organizations; Organizational engagement; Motivation

Definition

Organizational commitment is defined as “a psychological state that (a) characterizes the employee’s relationship with the organization, and (b) has implications for the decision to continue or discontinue membership in the organization” (Meyer & Allen, 1991, p. 67). This popular definition is an attempt to create consensus between different research traditions and definitions in the literature on organizational commitment. For example, Porter, Steers, Mowday, and Boulian (1974) strongly focused on the affective aspect by defining organizational commitment as “the relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in a particular organization” (p. 604). Mowday, Porter, and Steers (1982) differentiate Porter, Steers, Mowday and Boulian’s (1974) definition further by specifying “identification” and “involvement” in three factors: “1. a strong belief in and acceptance of the...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany

    Karsten Mueller & Tammo Straatmann

Authors
  1. Karsten Mueller
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  2. Tammo Straatmann
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Correspondence to Karsten Mueller .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

  2. (residence), Brandon, MB, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

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Mueller, K., Straatmann, T. (2014). Organizational Commitment. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2030

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2030

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