Intense Loyalty in Organizations: A Case Study of College Athletics

In this paper we examine a type of organizational loyalty, intense loyalty, that is more profound than the type of organizational loyalty traditionally portrayed as a rather mild attachment of individuals to a group, based on their satisfaction with their economic rewards, authority relations, or oc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Administrative Science Quarterly 1988-09, Vol.33 (3), p.401-417
Main Authors: Adler, Patricia A., Adler, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Athletes
Athletics
Basketball
Case Study
College athletics
College Sports
College Students
Colleges
Field research
Higher Education
Leadership
Loyalty
Observational research
Organization
Organizational Commitment
Organizational Theories
Quality of Working Life
School campuses
Socialization
Solidarity
Student athletes
Trust (Psychology)
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Summary:In this paper we examine a type of organizational loyalty, intense loyalty, that is more profound than the type of organizational loyalty traditionally portrayed as a rather mild attachment of individuals to a group, based on their satisfaction with their economic rewards, authority relations, or occupational self-fulfillment. Using data gathered over a five-year participant-observation study, we use the case of college athletics to illustrate this previously undiscussed form of organizational loyalty. We suggest that there are five elements essential to the development of intense loyalty in organizations: domination, identification, commitment, integration, and alignment. Through their experiences with each of these organizational dimensions, athletes develop feelings that lead to the development of intense loyalty. We conclude by contrasting the structural characteristics of organizations that generate intense loyalty with those of more ordinary work organizations.
ISSN:0001-8392
DOI:10.2307/2392716