TY - JOUR
T1 - Side-bets and reciprocity as determinants of organizational commitment among correctional officers
AU - Griffin, Marie L.
AU - Hepburn, John
PY - 2005/11
Y1 - 2005/11
N2 - Organizational commitment is a particularly salient characteristic of the prison work climate due to the stressful working conditions and high rate of turnover among correctional officers nationwide, yet little is known about the factors that predict the level of organizational commitment among officers. Becker's (1960) side-bets hypothesis predicts greater commitment among those who develop additional investments in the job that would be lost with a change of jobs, and the reciprocity hypothesis predicts greater commitment among those who feel they are well treated, supported, and respected by the organization. This study used a sample of 546 correctional officers to examine the relative effects of side bets and reciprocity on two components of organizational commitment - affective commitment and continuance commitment. The results of a multivariate OLS regression analysis indicated that reciprocity had a greater effect than side bets on affective commitment but that side bets had a greater effect than reciprocity on continuance commitment. These findings, which provide partial support for the side-bet hypothesis and strong support for the reciprocity hypothesis, are discussed in terms of the link between organizational commitment and other work-related behaviors.
AB - Organizational commitment is a particularly salient characteristic of the prison work climate due to the stressful working conditions and high rate of turnover among correctional officers nationwide, yet little is known about the factors that predict the level of organizational commitment among officers. Becker's (1960) side-bets hypothesis predicts greater commitment among those who develop additional investments in the job that would be lost with a change of jobs, and the reciprocity hypothesis predicts greater commitment among those who feel they are well treated, supported, and respected by the organization. This study used a sample of 546 correctional officers to examine the relative effects of side bets and reciprocity on two components of organizational commitment - affective commitment and continuance commitment. The results of a multivariate OLS regression analysis indicated that reciprocity had a greater effect than side bets on affective commitment but that side bets had a greater effect than reciprocity on continuance commitment. These findings, which provide partial support for the side-bet hypothesis and strong support for the reciprocity hypothesis, are discussed in terms of the link between organizational commitment and other work-related behaviors.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=27944460375&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=27944460375&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2005.08.010
DO - 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2005.08.010
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:27944460375
SN - 0047-2352
VL - 33
SP - 611
EP - 625
JO - Journal of Criminal Justice
JF - Journal of Criminal Justice
IS - 6
ER -