Allen and Meyer's 1990 Longitudinal Study: A Reanalysis and Reinterpretation Using Structural Equation Modeling

Abstract

Allen and Meyer (1990) proposed a possible latent factor, role certainty, impacting the effects of socialization tactics on organizational commitment and role orientation. Their data was reanalyzed with structural equation modeling to test this proposal and to examine the overlooked factor of interaction with job incumbents. The results indicated the presence of two latent factors, role certainty, and incumbent interaction. More importantly, the most pronounced impact was from incumbent interaction. Interaction with incumbents had a strong early impact on organizational commitment of newcomers, but this effect diminished significantly over time. The implications of this are discussed.