Commitment profiles for employee voice: dual target and dominant commitment mindsets

Based on the person-centered approach and the EVLN (exit, voice, loyalty, neglect) model, this study explores how the components of commitment create “profiles” and the implications of this for voice behaviors in response to malpractice at work. The study includes not just affective and continuance commitment forms but also a commitment to the team as a multi-target commitment. A survey was conducted of 518 employees from a broad range of organizations in Turkey. An attempt was made to differentiate the EVLN responses across diverse commitment profiles by expanding the context. Four clusters (low commitment, weakly-committed, affective–team dominant, and continuance dominant) were identified using k-means cluster analysis. Analysis of the variance results indicated that the affective–team dominant profile demonstrated the constructive voice. The low commitment profile showed the least desirable outcomes (exit and neglect), followed by the weakly-committed profile. The continuance dominant profile also demonstrated passive behaviors (neglect and patience). Affective and team commitments, which have similar foci, were found to be the primary drivers of voice behavior, especially when combined with low continuance commitment. Also, continuance commitment did not contribute to the voice behavior once a certain level of affective and team commitment was seen. This study contributes to expanding commitment profiles for data from Turkey by explaining diverse EVLN responses to dissatisfaction at work.