Abstract

A member’s feeling of commitment towards their organization remains an important topic of inquiry in communication scholarship.  Higher levels of organizational commitment have been shown to be associated with outcomes such as job satisfaction, motivation, absenteeism, organizational identification, and turnover.  While prior research has demonstrated those in jobs with enriching characteristics tend to have higher commitment, communication scholars have argued that the communication environment within which an organizational member is embedded is also a factor critical to understanding feelings of commitment.  Using a measure grounded in social network analysis, this study investigates the simultaneous influence of communication environment and job characteristics on employees’ levels of organizational commitment.  Results suggest both factors significantly and independently predict organizational commitment. 

Key Words: Communication Environment, Organizational Commitment, Communication Network Analysis, Job Characteristics Model, Social Contagion, Convergence

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 7, No. 2, October 2015, 1 – 13 

©Delmas Communications Ltd.

About the author

*Dr. Robert Whitbred, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, School of Communication, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, MU 233, Cleveland, OH 44115, U.S.A.

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Words: 4,939; Pages: 13