Staff/line distinctions in job and organizational commitment

Recently researchers have begun to investigate distinctions between job and organizational commitment. The study reported here investigated the relationship between staff/line distinctions and the two categories of commitment. The degree of perceived fit between job and organizational goals was suggested as an intervening variable. A sample of 207 police officers responded to a questionnaire that measured moral and calculative organizational commitment and job commitment. Findings supported the hypothesis that line employees would show more job commitment than staff personnel. In addition, the perceived fit variable explained most of these observed differences. Limitations of the measures and comparisons with findings from related areas are presented.