Transforming Work-Family Conflict into Commitment in Network Marketing Organizations

Abstract

A qualitative study of three network marketing organizations that sell products and services using distributed workforces suggests how these organizations harvest members' work-family conflict and transform work-related ambivalence into commitment. We offer a model depicting how specific organizational practices, which we label “making workers into family” and “bringing family into work” practices lead to and maintain two types of relationship-based commitments: those based on relationships with members and those based on relationships with nonmembers. Implications for theory and practice are offered.