Delving into the motivational bases of continuance commitment: Locus of control and empowerment as predictors of perceived sacrifice and few alternatives

Drawing from previous research bridging the commitment and motivation literatures, we examined the role of locus of control and empowerment, two motivationally relevant constructs, in the prediction of continuance commitment's subdimensions of perceived sacrifice and few alternatives. In Study 1 (N=217), which aimed to examine locus of control as a predictor of continuance commitment, external locus of control was found to be positively related to few alternatives but not perceived sacrifice measured 1 year later while controlling for the initial levels of these variables at Time 1. Study 2 (N=207) investigated the moderating role of external locus of control on the relationships between empowerment dimensions and perceived sacrifice and few alternatives. Empowerment dimension impact contributed positively to perceived sacrifice and few alternatives among low externals but not among high externals. Additionally, the relationship between empowerment dimension competence and few alternatives was positive among high externals and negative among low externals. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.