A Comparative Look at Dual Commitment: An International Study

Abstract

North American scholars have had an historical interest in the extent to which workers can be committed to both their employer and their union. This is particularly relevant given the recent emphasis on greater labor-management cooperation as part of a competitive strategy. This paper reviewed the correlational literature concerning the relationship between company and union commitment. Meta-analysis procedures were applied to the results of 76 samples involving a total of 15,699 respondents and found a mean corrected effect size of .42. The extended analyses included multiple studies from Canada, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. A system-level moderator, adversarial, or consensual approach to industrial relations, was found. While further moderator analysis was warranted, studies lacked sufficient information for coding. Conceptual and practical implications from the findings are drawn.