Attitudinal organizational commitment: an empirical research study into the construct dimensionality

The lack of precision surrounding the dimensionality of organizational commitment helps to make it a complex and multifaceted construct. In order to identify the best factor structure for organizational commitment, this study tested the inter-relationship between two attitudinal measures (affective and instrumental) and also the relationship of these variables with a measurement of behavioral intentions. We selected 1,869 workers from the Northern, Northeastern and Southern regions of Brazil. The results of the regression analysis and both the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed the bidimensionality of the instrumental dimension (lack of alternatives and high sacrifices); on the other hand, they demonstrated that this dimension is not part of the factor structure of attitudinal organizational commitment, which in turn is a one dimensional construct, comprising only the affective dimension