Organizational Commitment Scales – Revised (OCS)
Measures three distinct components of employee commitment to an organization: affective, continuance, and normative commitment.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Organizational Commitment Scales – Revised (OCS) was developed by John P. Meyer, Natalie J. Allen, & Catherine A. Smith (1993). It is designed to measure Organizational Commitment. The scale is intended for use with Employees / Working adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 18 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Affective Commitment Scale, Continuance Commitment Scale, Normative Commitment Scale.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Affective Commitment Scale | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | 6 |
| Continuance Commitment Scale | 7,8,9,10,11,12 | 6 |
| Normative Commitment Scale | 13,14,15,16,17,18 | 6 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Slightly disagree, 4 = Undecided, 5 = Slightly agree, 6 = Agree, 7 = Strongly agree.
The scale includes 4 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 6 to 42. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Commitment: 6 – 18
- Moderate Commitment: 19 – 30
- High Commitment: 31 – 42
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha typically ranges from 0.70 to 0.85 across subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.