Employee stock ownership plans and three-component commitment

Previous studies of employee ownership have conceptualized its chief attitudinal outcome principally as an emotional bond to the organization (i.e. affective commitment), despite a growing consensus that commitment is multifaceted. Using a sample of airline pilots, we assessed relationships between ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) attributes and three-component commitment (Meyer & Allen, 199 1). Regarding continuance commitment, high financial value was associated with pilots feeling freer to leave rather than being bound to the organization, as side-bet theory suggests. As predicted, perceived workplace empowerment was strongly related to normative commitment-consistent with Meyer and Allen's theoretical formulation emphasizing unfulfilled reciprocity norms but inconsistent with the non-contingent, loyalty norm explanation.