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 whom

owns a part of the company. This paper seeks to analyse the affective

commitment amongst John Lewis Partnership employees and how it

influences the generation of word-of-mouth communication amongst

those employees. This analysis leads to the development of a conceptual

framework which seeks to highlight the linkages between five notable

areas of Relationship Marketing, namely shared values, communication,

trust, commitment, and word-of-mouth.

This paper argues that the generation of word-of-mouth through strong

affective commitment is vital in generating repeat custom and maintaining

long lasting relationships and suggests that the John Lewis Partnership

should encourage its employees to emit word-of-mouth through an

incentive scheme.

Limitations explored in this paper suggest further areas of research,

especially into the impact of affective commitment amongst employees,

rather than consumers.