ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to explore the links between management development (MD) and organizational commitment. First, the literature on organizational commitment is discussed. The chapter then proceeds with an account of research carried out in DaimlerChrysler UK Limited (DCUK) on its first MD programme for team leaders. The research design applied a widely held notion of organizational commitment as comprising three different types of commitment – Affective, Normative and Continuance – as based on the work of Meyer and Allen (1997). A conceptual framework linking management development, organizational commitment and job performance was developed, and a hypothesis formulated that management development has no impact on Affective or Normative commitment and has a negative impact on Continuance commitment.
