Normative commitment in the workplace: A theoretical analysis and re-conceptualization

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Abstract

Among the components of the Meyer and Allen's [Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1, 64−89] three-component model of organizational commitment, normative commitment (NC) has received the least attention. It is sometimes dismissed as a redundant construct that bears many similarities to affective commitment and does not explain work behaviors beyond other components. In this review, we seek to re-establish the theoretical and practical significance of NC. We argue that NC has a dual nature and that it manifests itself differently depending on the strength of other components in an employee's commitment profile. NC can be experienced either as a moral duty or a sense of indebtedness, each having different implications for work behavior. Drawing on theories of perceived organizational support, motivation, psychological contracts, leadership, and culture, the paper justifies the distinction between two “faces” of NC, delineates organizational factors that could promote a more positive interpretation of NC, and proposes an agenda for future research.

Section snippets

A brief history of normative commitment

NC is perhaps best known as one of the components of commitment in the TCM (Meyer and Allen, 1991, Meyer and Herscovitch, 2001). However, the notion of commitment based on obligation has a much longer history, dating back to sociological theory and research in the 1960s and 1970s. For example, Kanter (1968, p. 501) described evaluative-control commitment as “commitment to norms, the values and inner convictions which morally obligate the individual,” and argued that it was conceptually distinct

Measurement of normative commitment

Among the first measures of a normative-type commitment to an organization were Marsh and Mannari's (1977) four-item measure of life-time commitment and Wiener and Vardi's (1980) three-item measure of normative commitment. Items in Marsh and Mannari's measure addressed perceptions of the prevalence of lifetime commitment, approval or disapproval of voluntary turnover, adherence to the norm of lifetime employment, and intention to remain. Wiener and Vardi's measure assessed beliefs about whether

NC within the TCM framework

As initially conceptualized within the TCM (Allen and Meyer, 1990, Meyer and Allen, 1991), AC, NC, and CC reflect relatively distinct psychological states that develop in different ways and make unique contributions to behavior. In this section, we review findings from traditional variable-centered research conducted to evaluate these claims. We begin with a comparison of NC and AC, and then shift our focus to NC and CC. In a subsequent section, we review the findings of more recent research

New developments in theory and research pertaining to normative commitment

To this point, our arguments in support of the conceptual distinctiveness of NC have been based largely on factor analytic findings and patterns of relations with other variables. The unique properties of NC become even more apparent when we consider recent research examining commitment profiles. Although it has long been argued that employees can experience varying degrees of all three forms of commitment, and that the three components combine (interact) to influence organizational behavior (

A new look at normative commitment: directions for future research

We believe that the findings reviewed above warrant a new look at the nature and implications of NC. Our objective here is to provide a theoretical framework to help explain these findings – particularly those pertaining to the dual nature of NC – and to offer an agenda for future research.

In developing their propositions concerning the behavioral implications of commitment profiles, Meyer and Herscovitch (2001) suggested that a mindset of obligation (NC) might temper the positive effects of

Implications for theory, research, and practice

Our objective in this review was to shed new light on the meaning and importance of NC. In the process, we demonstrated that NC has two faces, one reflecting a sense of moral duty, and the other a sense of indebted obligation. We also illustrated how the behavioral implications of these two faces of NC can be quite different. The evidence in support of these claims comes from recent research examining commitment profiles (e.g., Herscovitch and Meyer, 2002, Gellatly et al., 2006, Gellatly et

Conclusion

We noted at the outset that organizations are becoming increasingly reliant on a committed workforce to gain competitive advantage, and that it is arguably more important than ever to understand the nature, development and implications of employee commitment. Several early theorists (e.g., Etzioni, 1975, Kanter, 1968, Wiener, 1982) argued that commitments with a strong moral underpinning tend to guide behavior in a way that transcends self-interest and benefits the broader collective (e.g.,

Acknowledgement

Preparation of this article was supported by a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to the first author.

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