Commitment without the organisation: Clients, collaborators and professional bodies as substitutes

Abstract

Recent changes in the world of work not only challenge managers but also theories that are grounded in the assumptions of an employer-employee dyad (Ashford, George, & Blatt, 2007; Spreitzer, Cameron, & Garrett, 2017). Workplace commitment is one such theory (Klein, Molloy, & Brinsfield, 2012). In this paper we challenge the implicit field assumption that commitment is confined to employed individuals and organisations. Although commitment can be to multiple targets, it is overwhelmingly measured towards ‘the organisation’ (Becker, Klein, & Meyer, 2009; Meyer, 2009) despite this not being the reality for many. In the United Kingdom, for example, 15% of the workforce are self-employed (CRSE, 2017). We draw on 50 semi-structured interviews with independent consultants who are self-employed knowledge workers who use high levels of human capital and tacit knowledge to solve complex problems for multiple business clients. We used the critical incident technique (Chell, 2004) and participant pictures to investigate the targets and experience of commitment free of employment. Thematic coding (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyse the data and develop data structures in an abductive process that fused existing theory and empirical material (Alvesson & Kärreman, 2011). We use the context to reflect back and develop existing theory. In a situation where many of the usual targets do not apply, we outline three primary targets of commitment, clients, collaborators and professional bodies, and show how they substitute for and replace commitment to an organisation by acting as methods of gaining credibility and legitimacy, capacity and flexibility, and security. Furthermore we point to the increased importance of these targets in the management of and offerings for self-employed individuals.

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ORCID for David Cross: orcid.org/0000-0002-7984-3718

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