Demographic Differences in Organizational Commitment to the University of College of Business Administration Students: An Application of the Allen and Meyer Model
Organizational commitment of undergraduate college students to the university was measured by modifying an established measure and demographic differences were examined. Affective, continuance, and normative commitment facets were assessed. No differences based upon gender, race, and GPA were found. Length of time at the university and transfer status yielded differences in commitment. Implications of these relationships for student life programming and comparisons with employee commitment data are discussed. ********** Organizational commitment is a topic that, while primarily studied in companies, could be conceptualized in several different contexts. The purpose of this study was to apply the concept of organizational commitment to the university setting through the modification of an established measure of organizational commitment (Allen & Meyer, 1996) to assess students' commitment to their university. Commitment to the university has been defined in several different ways throughout the literature. Strauss and Volkwein (2004) define institutional commitment as a student's overall satisfaction, sense of belonging, perception of educational quality, and willingness to attend the university again. Smerdon (2002) uses the term "school membership" to explain students' feelings of school commitment. School membership includes feelings of belonging, commitment to the school, and commitment to schoolwork. Feelings of belonging assess the perception of fit between students and the school. Commitment levels toward school determines how important students believe school is to their future and the amount of commitment one has toward the norms that define what is considered to be acceptable in regards to the importance of school. Commitment to schoolwork assesses how much of a psychological investment is made towards the completion of schoolwork and how personally rewarding students find their schoolwork to be towards their development and growth. Woosley (2003) uses the term "educational commitment" in her study of the effects of initial college experiences on long-term college success. She defines educational commitment as a student's belief that there are no barriers to their completion of a degree or meeting immediate educational goals. Hausmann, Schofield, and Woods (2007) talk about "intentions to persist" as they are a result of the sense of belonging to the institution. They examined how interventions designed to enhance belonging may impact intentions to persist among first year students. While little positive gain was seen due to the intervention, there was a reduction of the number of students who indicated a decline in their intention to leave the institution. Allen (2008) found significant relationships between student-organization fit and satisfaction with faculty and organizational commitment [as measured by the three facets identified by Allen and Meyer (1990)] among college students. Linking organizational commitment to student behaviors, the study findings were seen as offering support for both Tinto's Student Integration Model (1975) and Bean's Student Attrition Model (1980) of student retention. Defining Organizational Commitment The concept of organizational commitment can be applied to the university context. Organizational commitment has been defined and measured in a variety different ways; although the various definitions and measures share a common theme in that organizational commitment is considered to be a bond or linkage of the individual to the organization (Mathieu & Zajec, 1990). Generally, organizational commitment is an individual's identification with and the attachment to an organization (Moorhead & Griffin, 2001). According to Mowday, Steers, and Porter (1979), organizational commitment is characterized by three factors: (a) a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization's values and goals; (b) a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization; and (c) a strong desire to sustain membership with the organization. …