Organizational identification and affective commitment : an integrative approach

Despite the similarities between organizational identification and affective commitment (i.e., both reflect a psychological bond between individuals and their employing organization), most of the empirical work concerning these two constructs has been conducted independently. However, some scholars have recently begun to bring together these two fields of research (e.g., Meyer, Becker, & van Dick, 2006) and several studies have empirically supported the distinction between organizational identification and affective commitment (e.g., van Knippenberg & Sleebos, 2006). However, there is still disagreement regarding how organizational identification and affective commitment are related. Indeed, little attention has been given to the direction of causality between these two constructs, the role of one concept in the development of the other, or the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of the organizational identification-affective commitment relationship. The present dissertation is therefore dedicated to an examination of these fundamental questions.