An analysis of the affective commitment amongst John Lewis Partnership employees and the implications for word-of-mouth communication

Abstract

The John Lewis Partnership employs over 84,000 people, each of whomowns a part of the company. This paper seeks to analyse the affectivecommitment amongst John Lewis Partnership employees and how itinfluences the generation of word-of-mouth communication amongstthose employees. This analysis leads to the development of a conceptualframework which seeks to highlight the linkages between five notableareas of Relationship Marketing, namely shared values, communication,trust, commitment, and word-of-mouth.This paper argues that the generation of word-of-mouth through strongaffective commitment is vital in generating repeat custom and maintaininglong lasting relationships and suggests that the John Lewis Partnershipshould encourage its employees to emit word-of-mouth through anincentive scheme.Limitations explored in this paper suggest further areas of research,especially into the impact of affective commitment amongst employees,rather than consumers.