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A Longitudinal Study of Shop Stewards’ Union Commitment and Perceptions of Union Instrumentality and Support
Author(s) -
Zacharewicz Thomas,
MartínezÍñigo David,
Kelloway E. Kevin
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
applied psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.497
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1464-0597
pISSN - 0269-994X
DOI - 10.1111/apps.12052
Subject(s) - perception , structural equation modeling , antecedent (behavioral psychology) , consistency (knowledge bases) , social psychology , psychology , union density , political science , mathematics , law , statistics , collective bargaining , geometry , neuroscience
Although previous studies have hypothesised that union perceptions (e.g. perceived union instrumentality, perceived union support) predict members’ commitment to the union, these relationships have only been tested cross‐sectionally. Drawing on attitude–behavior consistency theory, this study hypothesised that union commitment may be an antecedent of union perceptions. Cross‐lagged structural equation models with one year separating waves of data collection ( N = 676) provided the most support for a model suggesting that commitment precedes perceptions of the union. These results point to the need to consider new models of union commitment for shop stewards and, potentially, union members.