The lack of a universal definition for the organizational commitment brings difficulties for improving knowledge about the construct. Following the commitment construct revision proposed by Rodrigues (2009) through the separation of its continuance dimension - now referred to as organizational entrenchment, this paper analyzed the relationships between organizational affective commitment and entrenchment with behavioral intentions. The study was conducted in a Brazilian information technology company with the participation of 307 people. The results show that organizational entrenchment is indeed a different construct than the organizational affective commitment. It was found that affective commitment to the organization is a predecessor of the intentions to stay, defend, and exert extra effort, while entrenchment displayed no relevant relationships with them.

Neste artigo, apresenta-se um aprofundamento da exploração do construto comprometimento com a carreira por meio de uma análise de suas relações com o conceito de entrincheiramento e da comparação dos relacionamentos de ambos com desempenho no trabalho. Nesse campo de estudo, discutem-se as limitações e as fronteiras conceituais. O estudo, do qual participaram 217 pessoas, foi realizado em uma empresa de tecnologia da informação. Constatou-se redundância conceitual entre duas dimensões do entrincheiramento e os comprometimentos instrumental e normativo nessa amostra. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que o entrincheiramento é dado preponderantemente pela falta de alternativas de carreira. Seria essa a quarta dimensão do comprometimento com a carreira? A exemplo do comprometimento instrumental, o entrincheiramento na carreira relaciona-se negativamente com o desempenho. Seria o entrincheiramento a antítese do comprometimento? O comprometimento instrumental deveria ser a ele integrado? Mais do que apresentar respostas, neste artigo busca-se questionar o mainstream da pesquisa do comprometimento com a carreira e fomentar a reflexão sobre as fronteiras e dimensões do construto.

Career field studies have focused on the limitations and boundaries of occupational attachments as commitment and entrenchment. The purpose of this work is to investigate relations between these constructs and to compare their connections with work performance levels. A total of 217 workers at an information technology organization completed the survey. The results evidence conceptual redundancy between two entrenchment dimensions and continuance and normative commitment. We observed that the main idea of occupational entrenchment is the limitedness of career alternatives. Would this be the fourth dimension of occupational commitment? Like continuance commitment, career entrenchment relates negatively to work performance. Is the entrenchment concept the "opposite of commitment"? Should the continuance commitment be integrated with it? Beyond the present responses, this work aims to discuss the career commitment research mainstream and to promote reflections about construct boundaries and dimensions.

En este artículo se presenta una profundización de la exploración del constructo compromiso con la carrera por medio de un análisis de sus relaciones con el concepto de atrincheramiento, y de la comparación de las relaciones de ambos con el desempeño en el trabajo. En este campo de estudio se discuten las limitaciones y las fronteras conceptuales. El estudio, en el que participaron 217 personas, se llevó a cabo en una empresa de tecnología de la información. Se constató una redundancia conceptual entre dos dimensiones del atrincheramiento y el compromiso instrumental y normativo en la muestra. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que el atrincheramiento se da principalmente debido a la falta de alternativas de carrera. ¿Esta sería la cuarta dimensión del compromiso con la carrera? De la misma manera que el compromiso instrumental, ¿el atrincheramiento en la carrera se relaciona negativamente con el desempeño? ¿Sería el atrincheramiento la antítesis del compromiso? ¿El compromiso instrumental debería integrarse a él? En este artículo se pretende, además de presentar algunas respuestas, cuestionar el mainstream del estudio del compromiso con la carrera y promover la reflexión sobre las fronteras y dimensiones del constructo.

This study sought to understand how the employee perceptions of human resource management practices influence both organizational affective commitment and entrenchment. It represents advancement towards discriminant validity of such linkages that develop between individuals and the organizations they work for. A survey of 307 participants was conducted in an Information Technology company in Brazil. It was found that affective commitment has a strong and positive relationship with perceptions of HRM practices, while entrenchment is also related, but in a very weak fashion. Training and development practices showed better fit with the expected results of such practices in the organization studied, strongly affecting commitment, but not enhancing entrenchment. Even if not generalizable, these results strengthen the research stream that defends that commitment and entrenchment are separate constructs.