Exploring the Connection between Job Satisfaction and Different Forms of Organizational Commitment among Police

• Date: 01 May 2020
• Published date: 01 May 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0093854819896611
• Author: Eric G. Lambert,Sheeraz Akhtar,Mahesh K. Nalla
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2020, Vol. 47, No. 5, May 2020, 511 –528.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854819896611

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© 2019 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

511

EXPLORING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN

JOB SATISFACTION AND DIFFERENT

FORMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL

COMMITMENT AMONG POLICE

MAHESH K. NALLA

Michigan State University

SHEERAZ AKHTAR

Minhaj University Lahore

ERIC G. LAMBERT

University of Nevada, Reno

Police operate around the world. Police organizations are tasked with a wide variety of duties, and successful police organi-

zations need committed officers. The three main forms of organizational commitment are affective, normative, and continu-

ance commitment. This study examined the relationship of overall job satisfaction and facet job satisfaction (transfers, pay,

promotions, and supervision) on affective, normative, and continuance commitment among 550 officers working in the

operations and investigation wings of the Lahore Police Stations in Punjab, Pakistan. Based on multivariate ordinary least

squares (OLS) regression results, overall job satisfaction and facet satisfaction with transfers, pay, and supervision had sig-

nificant positive effects on affective and normative commitment and negative associations with continuance commitment.

Satisfaction with promotions, however, had a negative relationship with affective and normative commitment and a positive

association with continuance commitment.

Keywords: organizational commitment; affective commitment; continuance commitment; normative commitment; job

satisfaction; police; Pakistan

Organizational commitment refers to the bond that a worker has with the employing

organization (Allen & Meyer, 1990; Mowday et al., 1982), and this bond is important

for police agencies (Currie & Dollery, 2006; Moon & Jonson, 2012). As noted by Crow

et al. (2012), determining the variables that contribute to police officer organizational com-

mitment is important because commitment is linked to positive outcomes, such as increas-

ing performance and enhancing relationships between the police and the community. To

date, research on the antecedents of police organizational commitment has been limited

(Crow et al., 2012; Dick & Metcalfe, 2001; Jaramillo et al., 2005; Moon & Jonson, 2012).

Furthermore, the relationship between job satisfaction and commitment needs additional

AUTHORS’ NOTE: We are grateful for the helpful comments of the anonymous reviewers and the editor.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mahesh K. Nalla, School of Criminal Justice,

Michigan State University, 655 Auditorium Road, East Lansing, MI 48824; e-mail: nalla@msu.edu.

896611CJBXXX10.1177/0093854819896611Criminal Justice and BehaviorNalla et al. /

research-article2019

512 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR

research. The limited research to date suggests satisfaction is the best predictor of police

officer commitment. No published policing study, however, could be found that examined

the association of job satisfaction with the three major forms of organizational commitment:

affective, normative, and continuance. Police administrators and scholars need reliable

information about how workplace variables, including job satisfaction, are linked to each

form of commitment. Without sound empirical research, efforts to build organizational

commitment will be ad hoc, possibly ill-informed or even counterproductive, or even

develop the wrong form of commitment. In addition, there are two major ways to measure

job satisfaction: overall and facet. Research on how each is related to affective, normative,

and continuance commitment among the same group of police officers is lacking.

Officers are a critical and valuable resource for police agencies across the globe. Most

past policing studies involve police in Western countries (Tankebe, 2010). Far less research

has been attempted in Nonwestern nations (Lambert et al., 2019). The effects of overall and

facet satisfaction variables may not be universal, but instead may be situational and contex-

tual, varying across countries. Conducting research in wide array of nations can help narrow

the gap between nations and build bridges so that information flows more freely (Cao &

Cullen, 2001). The current study examined the effects of overall job satisfaction and the

facet job satisfaction dimensions of transfers, pay, promotions, and supervision among

Pakistani police officers. Pakistan is a predominately Muslim (96%) developing nation with

almost 200 million residents (World Factbook, 2019). The current study adds to the litera-

ture in two major ways: first, by examining the effects of both overall and facet satisfaction

on the three forms of commitment among police officers, an area not previously covered in

published policing studies and, second, examining commitment among Pakistani officers

will provide information about whether the effects of satisfaction are likely to be universal

or contextual, varying by country.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

Organizational commitment is the bond formed between the worker and the employing

organization (Allen & Meyer, 1990; Mowday et al., 1982). There are different forms of

organizational commitment that vary depending on how the bond is formed (Currie &

Dollery, 2006; Lambert et al., 2008). Meyer and Allen (1991) theorized three different

forms of organizational commitment: affective, normative, and continuance.

Affective commitment is a voluntary psychological bond that is formed by an indi-

vidual to the employing organization, having the elements of identification with the orga-

nization (i.e., pride in the organization and internalization of organizational goals) and

involvement in the organization (i.e., personal effort made for the sake of the organiza-

tion; Allen & Meyer, 1990; Kuo, 2015; Mowday et al., 1982). The affective bond gener-

ally forms because of positive workplace experiences and treatment by the organization

(Allen & Meyer, 1990). Under the reciprocity principle of the social exchange theory,

positive experiences at work and positive treatment by the organization results in a posi-

tive view of the organization and allows for a person to willingly bond with the organiza-

tion, resulting in a stronger bond (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). With this form of

commitment, workers stay with the organization longer because they have strong psycho-

logical ties to the organization, feel a sense of belonging, want to stay, and consider the

organization as a part of their family (Allen & Meyer, 1990).