The Impact of Management Development Practices on Organizational Commitment

Social exchange theorists argue that organizations that provide developmental assignments raise employee commitment. But such assignments may also undermine commitment by increasing the recipients’ value in the external labor market. We compare the effect of developmental assignments on organizational commitment with that of other development practices: coaching, mentoring, training, and support from the direct superior and senior management. We also test whether synergies arise when developmental assignments are combined with the other development practices. Using a sample of 312 highly skilled professionals working in over sixty countries, in a variety of industries and firms of various sizes, we find that developmental assignments are the strongest driver of organizational commitment, together with support from senior management. The positive relationship between developmental assignments and organizational commitment is weaker in the presence of other development practices. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.