Cause and effect explanations of job satisfaction and commitment: The case of exchange commitment

Although industrial psychology literature is replete with studies on job satisfaction and commitment, only Bateman and Strasser (1984) and Curry, Wakefield, Price, and Mueller (1986) have used longitudinal analysis to examine the relationship between the two variables. In an attempt to resolve some of the previous conflicting results, the present study analyzed the relationship between job satisfaction and an exchange theory of commitment. As part of a longitudinal study on attitudes and behavior, 63 Israeli police officers responded twice over a 5-month period to job satisfaction and commitment questionnaires derived from the Rusbult and Farrell (1983) model. A cross-lagged regression design showed that each variable was reliable and relatively stable, and that no causal relationship existed between commitment and job satisfaction.