PREDICTORS AND OUTCOMES OF DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF ORGANIZATIONAL AND UNION LOYALTY

This research identified four different patterns of loyalty to the organization and union in two Canadian unions (N = 426): (1) loyalty to both company and union (dual allegiance/loyalty); (2) loyalty to neither the union nor the company (dual non‐allegiance); (3) loyalty to the union, but not the company (unilateral union loyalty); and (4) loyalty to the company, but not the union (unilateral company allegiance). The predictors and consequences of these different patterns of company and union loyalty were assessed in a longitudinal design across three six‐month periods using a discriminant analysis and multivariate analysis of covariance, respectively. The results of the discriminant analysis confirmed the existence of unique predictors of organizational and union commitment. Only one common predictor of union and company commitment was found, namely union involvement. Similarly, the multivariate analyses of covariance suggested unique consequences for union and organizational allegiance. The implications of the findings for both unions and organizations are discussed. In particular, the possibility that involvement in either the union or the organization does not necessarily exert negative consequences for the other is emphasized. 1991 The British Psychological Society