The aim of this thesis is to describe and try to understand the organizational commitment of the salespersons at Alko Oy, the way the salespersons are committed to the organization, and the antecedents of commitment. The aim of this thesis is to look into and try to understand the manager's effect on commitment and the ways the manager can promote the commitment of the salespersons. Another object is to chart out and understand the consequences of commitment.

The theoretical framework of the study is made up of the study of organizational commitment and the study of leadership, especially transformational leadership and its effect on commitment. The research is qualitative by nature, and the main method of research is a focused interview. The research material was collected by interviewing 22 salespersons and 7 managers. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. In addition to the interviews, a survey was also conducted on the salespersons. The material was analysed according to the themes, and the interpretation of the empirical data is based on the theoretical framework of the study.

According to the research results, the level of commitment of the salespersons in their target organization is good or at least moderate, and it is based most strongly on the affective dimension. The commitment is also partly based on a continuance component, and to a small extent on a normative component. The factors affecting affective commitment the most are how varied, challenging and meaningful the work is, the feelings of accomplishment and meaningfulness, and the work atmosphere. The factors affecting continuance commitment the most are rewards and part-time employment as relating to them, which divided the salespersons in two. The variety and certainty of work, employment opportunities and family-related reasons also have an effect on continuance commitment. The factors affecting normative commitment the most are positive voluntary reciprocity towards the organization in relation to its actions and investments. Family socialization and psychological contract and its expectations also have an effect on normative commitment. The manager's effect on commitment is emphasized in the results and the manager's actions have the largest effect on affective commitment. The key ways for managers to affect the commitment of the salespersons are to give them responsibility, get them involved, feedback, open interaction and flow of information, and being neutral and fair. Being supportive and taking every salesperson into account as individuals, supporting the development of their skills and setting a good example are also very important. The most important consequences of commitment are the low turnover of workers and the quality of work performance and customer service. Also, matters relating to organizational citizenship behaviour, like doing one's best, flexibility, and self-direction are important consequences of commitment.