Our call for papers for this special issue on commitment and identification in organizations appears to have received considerable attention. Thirty-nine papers were submitted by scholars around the world, and we believe the seven papers (18%) we selected reflect the great variety of commitment and identification research being done today. Contributors to this issue come from the U.S. and Canada, the U.K., The Netherlands, France, and Switzerland, and the samples included in the research span even more of the globe (e.g., Australia, India). The nature of research design and methodology is also varied, and includes conceptual papers, qualitative accounts, longitudinal and cross-sectional surveys, and laboratory experiments. These forms of diversity-in author nationality, cultural setting, and method of investigation-symbolize how the field can benefit from bringing together research and researchers from different schools of thought.
Before previewing the individual contributions, we want to summarize the goals of the special issue. The team of guest editors, with the welcome support of Denise Rousseau, suggested in the call for papers that workplace commitment and identification still play a central role in employees' lives and the functioning of organizations. This is true despite-or because of-the fast changing nature of work, and related developments such as downsizing, delayering, merging, telecommuting, or virtual work. As organizations encounter increasing pressures to change, employee attachments will undoubtedly be affected. However, before we can contemplate the implications of these changes, we need a clear understanding of the forms and foci (targets) of these attachments. Also, despite the attention commitment and identification have received, there is still considerable disagreement regarding how they are related. Are they merely different labels for the same underlying construct? Does identification form part of commitment or vice-versa? Does one form of attachment precede and predict the other, or mediate between the other form and relevant outcome variables (e.g., retention, job performance, organizational citizenship behavior)? These questions are important conceptually and empirically, and seem to have practical implications. There are also many unanswered questions about the processes involved in the development and consequences of these attachments. A central purpose of