Multiple Foci of Workplace Commitments

The author evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the area of multiple commitments and appraises the opportunities and threats in the environment of the area. Strengths include clear evidence for the existence of multiple commitments and increasingly thoughtful theory and research, while weaknesses include the proliferation of commitment foci, failure to address important theoretical issues, and weak research designs. Examples of opportunities are the needs of scholars outside the commitment area for better explanations of behaviors and outcomes, and of practitioners for tools to predict and influence employee behavior. Threats consist of paradigm underdevelopment, perceived concept redundancy, and the tendency towards fads and fashions such that newer, ‘sexier’ concepts seem more appealing than more mature concepts such as commitment. The author offers suggestions about future directions for commitment theory, research, and practice, with an emphasis on building on strengths, capitalizing on opportunities, and addressing weaknesses and threats.