The Three-Component Model of organizational commitment (Meyer & Allen,
1991) has gained substantial popularity since its inception (Wasti, 2005). Meyer and
Allen (1991) concluded that an employeeís commitment reflected a desire, need and
obligation to maintain membership in an organization. Consequently, commitment
manifests itself in three relatively distinct manners. Affective commitment refers to the
degree to which a person identifies with, is involved in, and enjoys membership in an
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organization. Employees with affective commitment want to remain with an organization.
Continuance commitment involves a personís bond to an organization based on what it
would cost that person to leave the company. Continuance commitment echoes Beckerís
(1960) side-bet theory, and employees with continuance commitment remain with an
organization out of need or to avoid the perceived cost of leaving. Normative commitment
involves a feeling of moral obligation to continue working for a particular organization.
For any number of reasons, such as a feeling of indebtedness, need for reciprocity or
organizational socialization, normatively committed employees feel that they ought to
remain with the organization (Meyer & Allen, 1991).