Assessing the relationship between commitment combination and employee attitude

Purpose This study adopts perspectives based on reference group and organizational theories. It endeavors to categorize employees into four groups based on the following characteristics: loyalists (employees who are strongly attached to their organization and supervisor), comfort seekers (employees who are strongly attached to their organization but have low regard for their supervisor), followers (employees who are strongly attached to their supervisor but have low regard for their organization) and demolishers (employees who have low regard for both organization and supervisor). This study aims to explore whether these four distinct groups of employees exhibit differential performance in terms of job satisfaction, job performance and turnover intention. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted using purposive sampling. Analytical results from 198 supervisors and 396 employees are summarized as follows. Findings Through cluster analysis, this study was effective in separating employees into four groups. The profiles are differentially related to job satisfaction, job performance and turnover intention. Practical implications Organizations should use appropriate strategies to manage these behaviors. For example, if an organization has concerns about high job satisfaction, the organization should focus not only on building its employees’ organizational commitment but also on improving its employees’ commitment to their supervisors. Originality/value This study sought to extend and reconstruct the theories of employee commitment. The author simultaneously addressed employees’ organizational commitment and supervisory commitment as well as incorporated different commitment levels. This study effectively classified employees into four groups. The author then theorized employees’ perceived job satisfaction, job performance and turnover intention with respect to the four groups.