Understanding the employee-organization relationship: A study measuring organizational commitment, psychological contracts, and captivation and identification in three government organizations

This study focused on the affective aspect of employee-organization relationship by exploring the relationships between organizational commitment, psychological contracts, and captivation and identification. To accomplish this, on-line surveys were used to gather employee perceptions. Measures used were the Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment Scale developed by Meyer and Allen (1991), the Psychological Contract Inventory by Rousseau (2000), and the Captivation and Identification scale developed by the researcher based on Bruel and Colsen (1998).; The sample in this study was comprised of three government organizations all located in the midwestern part of the United States. Completed surveys were obtained from 897 participants with a total response rate 28.9%. Bi-variate correlations and multivariate analysis of variance were employed to assess the relationships between the scales. The results showed strong correlations between the scales used in this study to measure organizational commitment, psychological contracts, and captivation and identification, indicating partial redundancy. Moderate to strong correlations were reported, as well, between the sub-scales within each of the major scales used in this study, indicating the need for revisions, especially of the Psychological Contract Inventory (Rousseau, 2000).; It was concluded that the proposed Captivation and Identification Scale did not add much to other constructs already used in the literature (i.e., organizational commitment and relational and balanced psychological contracts), in terms of describing the perceptions of employees with regard to the psychological component of the employee-organization relationship. Next, all three scales used in this study need revisions to enhance their psychometric properties. The findings have implications for future research and practice. It is recommended to wait using the PCI for measuring psychological contracts in organizations until the psychometric characteristics of this scale have been improved by future research studies. Next, the captivation and identification scale needs further refinement to better distinguish between the two constructs. In conclusion, this study confirmed that the employee-organization relationship is a complex construct. A recommendation was made for organizations to start, or revive, the dialogue with their employees to gain insight into needs and wants of both parties that often remain unspoken.