Antecedents and consequences of occupational ideologies

Perhaps the most pervasive change in contemporary organizations is the increasing heterogeneity of employed occupational groups and yet little is known about managing such groups. In this study, we argue that managing multiple occupational groups within organizations lies in understanding the role of their occupational ideologies and specifically examining the antecedents and consequences of those ideologies. Occupational ideology refers to ideas occupational members maintain about the nature of work and their identities as practitioners. We examine one important occupational ideology which we term professionalism. Professionalism emphasizes the use of expert knowledge, norms of equality, work autonomy, and self-regulation. Using a 3-year panel dataset, we argue and show that members of the same occupation maintain heterogeneous degrees of professionalism which are rooted in their organizational context and specifically in the nature of their work. We further argue and show partial support for the consequences of professionalism on organizational and occupational commitment. Specifically, we argue and show partial support for an interactionist account which suggests that occupational members' commitment to the organization and occupation is a function of the similarity between their own sense of professionalism and their organization's professionalism. Finally, the study provides a comparative account of the inter-occupational differences in occupational members' ideologies and their organizational and occupational commitment which sheds light on the occupational subcultures that develop in contemporary organizations.