How to increase affective organizational commitment among new French police officers. The role of trainers and organizational identification

ABSTRACT

This study concerns police socialization, focusing on the influence of trainers on the affective organizational commitment of new police officers in France. There has been little research on the role of trainers in organizational identification, which refers to how members of an organization define themselves in relation to that organization. The aim of this study was specifically to examine first the links between the quality of the trainer-newcomer relationship, clarity of the trainer’s expectations, and affective organizational commitment, and secondly the mediating role of organizational identification in these relationships. Participants were 852 French police officers attending a training course. Structural equation modeling revealed that the quality of the trainer-newcomer relationship and clarity of expectations were related to affective organizational commitment, and that organizational identification acted as a mediator between these two factors and the outcome. Based on these findings, practical suggestions and directions for future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Quality of trainer-newcomer relationship
• clarity of expectations
• organizational identification
• affective organizational commitment
• police

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

S. Chevalier

S. Chevalier is an Associate Professor in work and organizational psychology at the University of Tours, France. Her research interests includes well being and psychological health at work, for example:o Chevalier, S., Lejeune, J., Fouquereau, E., Coillot, H., Gillet, N., Gandemer, V., Michon, J., Colombat, P. (2017). Organizational and managerial resources and quality of care in French pediatric oncology nursing. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 1–8 https://doi.org/10.1177/1043454217717238o Chevalier, S., Fouquereau, E., Bénichoux, F., & Colombat, P. (2018) Beyond working conditions, psychosocial predictors of job satisfaction and work engagement among French dentists and dental assistants, Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research https://doi.org/10.1111/jabr.12152

She have also a particular interest to the career transitions, for example:o Chevalier, S., Fouquereau, E., Gillet, N., & Bosselut, G. (2017). Unraveling the perceived reasons underlying entrepreneurs’ retirement decisions: A person-centered perspective; Journal of Small Business Management, 56(3), 513–528 doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12312o Chevalier, S., Fouquereau, E., Gillet, N., & Demulier, V. (2013). Development of the Reasons for Entrepreneurs’ Retirement Decision Inventory (RERDI) and Preliminary Evidence of its Psychometric Properties in a French sample. Journal of Career Assessment, 21, 572–586. doi: 10.1177/1069072712475288 .

Séverine Chevalier and some co-authors published previously on Police officers:o Gillet, N., Morin, A. J. S., Odry, D., Chevalier, S. Coillot, H., & Fouquereau, E. (2018). Self-determination trajectories during police officers’ vocational training program: A growth mixture analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2018.09.005.o Gillet, N., Huart, I., Colombat, P., & Fouquereau, E. (2013). Perceived Organizational Support, Motivation, and Engagement Among Police Officers. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 44, 46–55. doi:10.1037/a0030066

I. Huart

I. Huart works at Police Regional Center of Recruitment and Training of National Police.

H. Coillot

H. Coillot is a statistical engineer at the University of Tours.

D. Odry

D. Odry works at the French Ministry of the interior

R. Mokounkolo

R. Mokounkolo is an associate professor at the University of Tours. His research interests includes psychological health and quality of life at work.

N. Gillet

N. Gillet is an Associate Professor at the University of Tours. His research interests includes work motivation, health, and performance at work.

E. Fouquereau

E. Fouquereau is full-professor at the University of Tours, France. Her research interests includes psychological health and quality of life at work.