Some unresolved issues in the person-centered approach to organizational commitment within the Meyer/Allen paradigm

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss issues that merit attention in further developing the person-centered approach to commitment, including its implications for how employees experience commitment and challenges from other models of commitment such as the Klein model and the “interactions” model. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper, so the authors surveyed the current state of research on person-centered studies within the Meyer/Allen model of employee commitment via various search engines and journal perusals such as Google, various academic databases in the organizational and psychological sciences. Findings The analysis shows that there are unresolved issues with regard to whether a person- or variable-centered approach to studying commitment is best, the measurement of commitment constructs as used in person-centered studies, the challenge posed by the Klein model of commitment and the role of demographic factors in commitment profiles. Addressing these will move the person-centered approach forward. Research limitations/implications Addressing the issues revealed by the findings will move person-centered commitment research forward by focusing researchers on the methodological and conceptual issues discussed in the paper. Practical implications This paper is primarily aimed at scholars of commitment in organizations, however, practicing managers may learn from the discussion of competing commitment models about how their subordinates experience commitment and gain insights about how to leverage that commitment for the organization. Social implications Commitment is an important aspect of social life, understanding how commitment is experienced in organizations will improve the authors’ knowledge. Originality/value Readers of management research review interested in employee commitment will benefit from reading the authors’ explication of current issues within the person-centered approach to that job attitude.