Affective commitment to the organization, supervisor, and work group: Antecedents and outcomes

Three longitudinal studies investigated the usefulness of distinguishing among employees' affective commitments to the organization, the supervisor, and the work group. Study 1, with 199 employees from various organizations, found that affective commitments to these entities were factorially distinct and related differentially to their theorized antecedents. Study 2, with a diversified sample of 316 employees, showed that organizational commitment (a) had an indirect effect on turnover through intent to quit, (b) partially mediated the effect of commitment to the supervisor on intent to quit, and (c) completely mediated the effect of commitment to the work group on intent to quit. Study 3, with matched data collected from 194 nurses and their immediate supervisors, determined that (a) commitment to the supervisor had a direct effect on job performance and (b) organizational commitment had an indirect effect on job performance through commitment to the supervisor. However, Study 3 failed to show any effect of commitment to the work group on performance. These findings are interpreted in light of the relative salience of commitment foci with regard to the outcome under study. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.