Relationship between satisfaction and organisational commitment

Several research took a number of hypotheses so far to demonstrate the relationship between satisfaction and commitment (Vandenberg, 1992).

(1.) Satisfaction causes commitment.

(2.) Commitment causes satisfaction.

(3.) Satisfaction and commitment interact each other, they are in reciprocity.

(4.) There is no relationship between these two organisational attitudes.

For hypothesis (1) it was found that satisfaction is a very important component, and also antecedent of commitment. Because satisfaction can trigger immediate emotional reactions, therefore it can play a central role in the development of commitment. However, many other factors can influence the effect of satisfaction, such as organisational goals, values, performance expectations, and organisational attitudes towards the individual (Vandenberg, 1992). Consequently, it appears that satisfaction shapes and stabilizes organisational commitment, and it is one of the important components of commitment.

Others (e.g. Bateman, Strasser, 1984) say that commitment can be a trigger of satisfaction – see hypothesis 2. (Vandenberg, 1992). This is based on the assumption that stronger commitment could lead to a positive emotional state, which can increase member satisfaction. Another explanation is when the individual thinks he is already committed to the organisation, it is probably or even certainly suitable for him, therefore his satisfaction will be higher. It can be interpreted as kind of cognitive dissonance reduction. All in all, it can be said that organisational commitment is the basis of any other organisational attitudes, therefore it can cause satisfaction as well.

Examining the 3rd hypothesis, some results emerged which show interaction between the two factors (e.g. . Farkas, Tetrick, 1989, Lance, 1991). However, there are only a few studies which can confirm it, and their methodology is often questionable (see Vandenberg, 1992).

Testing the 4th hypothesis (e.g. Lance, 1991, Brief et al., 1988), it was found that commitment and satisfaction are almost identical attitudes with different names and can be influenced by several factors, therefore the analysis of their relationship is incomprehensible (see Vandenberg, 1992).

Vandenberg (1992) examined each of the four hypotheses, and in the case of the first hypothesis he found some evidence, according to which satisfaction can cause commitment.

Moynihan, Boswell and Boudreau (2000) have found similar results. They were trying to answer the question of the impact of job satisfaction and organisational commitment on the members’ desire of leaving work, searching for new jobs and their performance. In addition, they were also curious about the relationship between satisfaction and commitment. Table 5. below shows the main results of their examination.

Table 5. Correlations between variables in the study of Moynihan et al. (2000)