131: Commitment and Community - Rosabeth Moss Kanter - Talking About Organizations Podcast

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This month we return to the works of Rosabeth Moss Kanter, whose study on tokenism we explored way back in Episode 17. This time, we will discuss one of her better known books Commitment and Community: Communes and Utopias in Sociological Perspective that examines the origins and life cycle of numerous communes that sprang up in the US from the mid-19^th century to the 1960s. Written based on her dissertation study at a time when hippie communes were popular, she wondered what drove people to start or join these communes and what factors enabled the communes’ survival.

At the heart of the study is the concept of utopia, an idealized community that a group of (supposedly) like-minded individuals aspire to create in order to escape from or avoid an imperfect regular society. The US became a magnet for the creation of such utopias since its early history due to the vast available terrain and the fact that many early Americans escaped religious persecution, economic oppression, ethnic conflict, and other difficulties. In the mid-19th century, the desires for new societies that operated under different rules and norms fueled the creation of communes, whereby groups of people who were either organized by a charismatic leaders or who collectively decided to withdraw from society, went out into the wilderness to start something new. Over the following 130 years or so, such utopian pursuits became a part of American culture, whether it was for religious, economic, or psychosocial aims.

Through examination of archival data, Kanter explained the appeal of joining such communes, what she refers to as utopian “ideals” – the pursuit of perfect societies that escape or fend off societies’ imperfections, the exercise of an orderly life in contrast to the chaos and unpredictability of the outside, a strong sense of brotherhood that brings the commune members together most strongly than the harsh external environment, and several other factors. She also formulated a conceptual framework to explain why some communes were successful and others were not, outlining one of the first theories on organizational commitment. Kanter explained commitment as based on individual’s instrumental, affective, and moral considerations. She also uncovered the organizational mechanisms that help develop each type of commitment—sacrifice, investment, renunciation, communion, mortification, and transcendence.

After examining the success or failure of 19th century communes, Kanter also provides an analysis of contemporary efforts—in the 1960s and 1970s—to revive utopian communities. She finds that contemporary communes tended to fall into two groups – what she called retreat communes and service communes. The former tended to fail because the commitment among members was largely based on escaping society without necessarily agreeing to or abiding by the rules and norms of the commune. Thus, such groups were fragile and more likely to experience conflict in times of crisis. On the other hand, service communes remained connected to society and often vowed to fix society’s problems, whether directly through service projects or simply by being an example to society through enacting its collective values. These tended to be more selective of who was allowed in and what projects they undertook and therefore sustained commitment of members for much longer periods of time.

However, there was also a dark side to the story in which some communes became very dangerous and threatening to both larger society and its members. As part of our discussion for applying Kanter’s ideas to contemporary Internet-enabled social movements and organizations, we will discuss the potential for creating dystopias instead and potential ways to identify and avoid them.

Part 1. Committing to the pursuit of utopia

Part 2. Contemporary utopias and dystopias

Summary of Episode 131

You may also download the audio files here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Supplement

Watch with us:

Kanter, R. M. (1972). Commitment and community: Communes and utopias in sociological perspective. Harvard Business Press.

To know more:

Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.1990.tb00506.x

Becker, H. (1960). Notes on the Concept of Commitment. American Journal of Sociology, 66(1), 32–40. https://doi.org/10.1086/222820

Buchanan, B. (1974). Building Organizational Commitment: The Socialization of Managers in Work Organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 19(4), 533. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391809

Gamson, W. A. (1991). Commitment and agency in social movements. Sociological Forum, 6(1), 27–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01112726

Kanter, R. M. (1968). Commitment and Social Organization: A Study of Commitment Mechanisms in Utopian Communities. American Sociological Review, 33(4), 499. https://doi.org/10.2307/2092438

Kanter, R. M. (1972). Commitment and the Internal Organization of Millennial Movements. American Behavioral Scientist, 16(2), 219–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/000276427201600205

Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M., & Porter, L. W. (1979). The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14(2), 224–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(79)90072-1