Quondam Commitments: An Examination of Commitments Employees No Longer Have

We introduce the concept of quondam commitment (i.e., a commitment an employee once had, but no longer holds). How the quondam commitment concept complements—and is distinct from —commitment and employee withdrawal is explained and potential reasons why quondam commitments have been overlooked are discussed. Then, a content analysis of responses to open ended questions from three samples is presented in which individuals provide a quondam commitment and explain why they no longer hold that commitment. Insights from the study include a classification of the reasons why individuals no longer hold a commitment and a classification of the targets of former commitments. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.