"Ask not what your country can do for you": The normative basis of organizational commitment

Three hypotheses on the relations between instrumental and normative values and facets of organizational commitment were tested and confirmed, using a sample of candidates for officers' training course in the Israel Defence Forces. Affective commitment (identifying with the goals and values of the organization) is related only to normative values, manifested by a preference for working in organizations that are meaningful to society. Continuance behavior (the desire to retain or maintain membership in an organization) is related to both normative and instrumental values, manifested by a preference for working in organizations that provide benefits to the individual. Extra-role behavior (the willingness to exert extra effort on behalf of the organization) is mostly related to normative values. The contribution of the results to clarifying the conceptual confusion regarding organizational commitment is discussed.