This study was concerned with investigating the influences effecting the organisational commitment of new employees. In particular it focused on the measurement of the attitudes of 27 0 newly-employed retail sales assistants during their first four months of employment. The organisational entry period was chosen for investigation because of its importance in the formation of new employee attitudes. The study also focused on definitional and methodological considerations. Of equal importance

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... the attempts to prove that commitment was a multidimensional construct (incorporating the concepts of involvement and identification), and the development of a new measuring scale (which separated affective responses towards the job from affective reponses towards the organisation). These issues needed resolution as considerable confusion surrounded them in the literature. Using a repeated measures design within a three-stage socialisation model framework, answers were sought to the following questions: what types of influences effected employee levels of commitment; did the commitment attitude remain consistent over time, rise or fall?; and were certain commitment influences more critical at certain stages than at others? The range of variables drew from socialisation theory and the Becker/Ritzer and Trice controversy, -that is, 'side-bet' and social-psychological variables. To I achieve a more macro and integrated approach to commitment, job search and job leaving behaviours were also included. I am also grateful for the contructive guidance and support given by my supervisor, Professor D.C. Dunphy. My special thanks go to Francis Lovejoy and John Ray of the School of Sociology for their assistance with the 'mysteries' of scale development and computer programmes, while Graham Pratt and Jim Lucas provided much needed encouragement and stimulation at appropriate stages of the study. Finally, my sincere appreciation to my parents without whose assistance on the home front this thesis would not have been possible.