Power and Commitment: An Empirical Assessment

Abstract

There is some question as to the usefulness of Etzioni's typological theory of compliance in organizational research. This study with a sample of 265 blueand white-collar workers in six organizations tests propositions from the theory concerning relationships between power used by organizations, commitment of workers to the organization and task performance. The results cast doubt on the usefulness of a classification scheme using concrete organizational types, but support the proposition that the more normative (less utilitarian) the power, the greater the commitment. Little or no relationship was found between power and task performance or commitment and task performance.