Employee stock ownership plans and three‐component commitment

Previous studies of employee ownership have conceptualized its chief attitudinal outcome principally as an emotional bond to the organization (i.e. affective commitment), despite a growing consensus that commitment is multifaceted. Using a sample of airline pilots, we assessed relationships between ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) attributes and three‐component commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1991). Regarding continuance commitment, high financial value was associated with pilots feeling freer to leave rather than being bound to the organization, as side‐bet theory suggests. As predicted, perceived workplace empowerment was strongly related to normative commitment — consistent with Meyer and Allen's theoretical formulation emphasizing unfulfilled reciprocity norms but inconsistent with the non‐contingent, loyalty norm explanation.