Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to multiple foci within a high-reliability organization

This thesis attempted to determine whether members of a high reliability organization perceive significantly different degrees of affective, continuance, and normative commitment toward individual foci within their organization, and whether, within each focus, there are significant differences among the types of commitment experienced. This study also sought to ascertain whether any relationship exists between meaning management and the varying degrees of affective, continuance, and normative commitment experienced. Quantitative data from an online survey of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets indicated that HRO employees may experience less affective commitment to more local foci. However, management of meaning was most highly correlated with commitment at the local level, and had the least correlation with continuance commitment across all foci. Future longitudinal or ethnographic research may be able to determine the exact causal relationships between management of meaning, the three types of commitment, and foci within an HRO.