Explaining the Impact of organizationl Change Characteristics on Employees’ Affective Commitment to Change

Document Type : مقالات

Authors

• ahmad esakhani ¹
• Mona Ghaffariajirabad ²

¹ Kharazmi

² Qazivin Islamic Azad University

https://doi.org/10.22067/pmt.v8i15.52383

Abstract

1- INTRODUCTION
When it comes to organizational change, the concept of resistance toward it comes to managers’ mind subconsciously. Many researchers have concluded that people have a special position in front of Organizational Changes (Vakola, Oreg & Armenakis 2013; Oreg & Sverdlik, 2011). Some employees embrace changes and consider them as opportunities for making self-improvements. In contrast, others get upset and intend to keep their routines and consider changes as threats and take a negative attitude toward it (Judg, Pucik & Welbourne, 1999). Therefore, employees’ attitude plays a vital role in achieving the goals of organizational change. Many of recent studies done on organizational change (e.g., Alderfer, 1977; Armenakis & Bedeian, 1999; Faucheux, Amado & Laurent 1982; Friedlander & Brown, 1974; Pasmore & Fagans, 1992; Porras & Silvers, 1991; Sashkin & Burke, 1987; Weick & Quinn, 1999; Woodman, 1989) have only focused on change readiness, change implementation and reactions toward an organizational change. This is while the change recipients’ reaction lies at the heart of events and as a determinant of each organizational change success. Although there has been a quick review in many of organizational change studies, in most of the cases, the focus is on the organizational level and not the individual level. Therefore, there is a lack of research on change recipients (Judge et al., 1999).
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
There is a general consensus of opinion among researchers and practitioners who argue that change programs often fail (Beer & Nohria, 2000; Burnes, 2009; By, Diefenbach & Klarner, 2008; Diefenbach, 2007). On the other hand, commitment to chnage is considered as one of important factors affecting employees' support for change plans (Armenakis & Bedeian, 1999; Coetsee, 1999; Conner, 1992; Conner & Patterson, 1982; Klein & Sorra, 1996). Many theoretical approaches have identified reasons as the underlying determinants of behavior. First, Reasoning Theory states that “reasons serve as important linkages between people’s beliefs, global motives (e.g., attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control), intentions, and behavior and reasons motivate behavior, because they help people justify and defend their actions” (Westaby, 2002). When explaining the reason behind behavioral reactions, people should have good feelings (Pieters & Zeelenberg, 2005). Theory of reasoned action and planned behavior (Azjen & Fishben, 1980) remarks that people make decisions in a rational and systematic manner through their available information. Therefore employees’ evaluation of different aspects of change reflects their type of reaction. If employees’ do not have positive perception of change, then they will naturally take a position toward it which is more like resistance toward change. The more positive this evaluation is, the more consistency and acceptance will be shown by employees’, which automatically leads to more commitment to change. Staff’s participation in change leads to more information on different aspects of change and so the participation itself results in commitment to change. Employees’ cost-benefit analysis about a change and prevailing benefits of the change in the underlying costs can dispose the commitment to change. Change extends also in terms of scope and scale and challenges associated with it may also affect employees’ commitment to change.
3- METHODOLOGY
The sample of this research consisted of the managers and employees of Darmanyab Group (PJS). This group of companies included 156 staff. Cochran sampling formula was used to determine the sample size. Based on this formula, a minumum sample size of 111 people was required. In order to achieve the desired sample size, 130 questionnaires using simple random sampling were distributed among the staff. 111 out of 130 questionnaires were received which showed a response rate of 85%. Four Standard questionnaires were used in order to measure research variables; Five items obtained from change questionnaire (Caldwell et al., 2004), Five items change extent questionnaire (Caldwell et al., 2004), Six items affective commitment to change questionnaire (Meyer & Herscovitch, 2002), and Four items participation in change questionnaire (Wanberg & Banas, 2000).
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
This study aimed to assess the effects of the characteristics of organizational changes on employees’ affective commitment. The research hypothesis was tested through analyzing the collected data. The results showed that employees’ participation in changes has a significant positive effect on their affective commitment. This effect is greater in comparison with other characteristics of the organization change (0.38) which highlighted the importance of employees’ participation impact on their commitment. The results also showed that perceived benefits of change have positive effect on employees’ affective commitment to change; however, the impact is less in comparison to participation in change (0.11). One of the key factors in determining acceptance or rejection of change by the recipients is certainly the usefulness or harmfulness of a change. Predicted profit and loss are among the simple and rational reasons based on which employees decide whether to accept changes or refuse them (Dent & Goldberg, 1999; Nord & Jermier, 1994). Finally the results showed that the extent of change has no significant effect on employees' affective commitment to change.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Based on the results achieved, it is recommended that organizations which work in dynamic environments and face with daily political, economical, and social changes use participation policy in their decision making and implementation processes of change plans. These kinds of organizations need lots of inner organizational changes and in order to benefit from employees’ accompany and support, it is suggested that they involve employees in change plans.
In addition, based on the benefits of change effect on employees’ commitment, it is recommended that organizations make transparent benefits associated with change plans for employees. This can be done through open communication and also providing information about aspects, consequences, and necessity of change.

Keywords

• Organizational change
• Benefit of change
• Extent of change
• Participation
• Affective commitment

References

References

Alutto, J. A., & Belasco, J. A. (1972). A typology for participation in organizational decision making. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(1), 117-25.

Armenakis, A. A., & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational change: a review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of Management, 25, 293-315.

Amiot, C.; Terry, D.; Jimmieson, N., & Callan, V. (2006). A longitudinal investigation of coping processes during a merger: implications for job satisfaction and organizational identification. Journal of Management, 32, 552-574.

Ashford, S. J. (1988). Individual strategies for coping with stress during organizational transitions. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 24, 19-36.

Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Bartunek, J. M.; Rousseau, D. M.; Rudolph, J. W., & DePalma, J. A. (2006). On the receiving end: Sense making, emotion, and assessments of an organizational change initiated by others. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 42, 182-206.

Beer, M., & Nitin, N. (2000). Cracking the code of change. Harvard Business Review, 78(3), 133–141.

Beer, M.; Eisenstat, R., & Spector, B. (1990). Why change programs don’t produce change. Harvard Business Review, 158-166.

Burnes, B. (2009). Managing Change, (5th Ed,), FT/Prentice Hall, Harlow.

By, R.T.; Diefenbach, T., & Klarner, P. (2008). Getting organizational change right in public services: the case of European higher education. Journal of Change Management, 8(1), 21-35.

Caldwell, S. D.; Herold, D. M., & Fedor, D. B. (2004). Toward an understanding of the relationships among organizational change, individual differences, and changes in person-environment fit: a cross level study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 868-882.

Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. Modern methods for business research, 295(2), 295-336.

Coch, L., & French, J. (1948). Overcoming resistance to change. Human Relations, 1, 512-532.

Coetsee, L. (1999). From resistance to commitment. Public Administration Quarterly, 23, 204–222.

Conger, J. A., & Kanungo, R. N. (1988). The empowerment process: integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13(3), 471-82.

Conner, D. R., & Patterson, R. W. (1982). Building commitment to organizational change. Training and Development Journal, 36, 18–30.

Conner, D. R. (1992). Managing at the speed of change: how resilient managers succeed and prosper where others fail. New York: Villard Books.

Coyle-Shaipro, J. A. M. (2002). Changing employee attitudes: the independent effects of TQM and profit sharing on continuous improvement orientation. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 38, 57-77.

Cummings, T., & Worley, C. (2001). Organization development and change (7th Ed,). Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern College.

Dent, E. B., & Goldberg, S. G. (1999). Challenging resistance to change. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35(1), 25-41.

Diefenbach, T. (2007). The managerialistic ideology of organizational change management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 20(1), 126-144.

Duncan, T. (2008). Integrated Marketing Communication. McGraw-Hill: European edition.

Gardner, D. G.; Dunham, R. B.; Cummings, L. L., & Pierce, J. L. (1987). Employee focus of attention and reactions to organizational change. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 23, 351-370.

Herold, D. M.; Fedor, D. B., & Caldwell, S. D. (2007). Beyond change management: a multilevel investigation of contextual and personal influences on employees’ commitment to change. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 942-951.

Holt, D. T.; Armenakis, A. A.; Feild, H. S., & Harris, S. G. (2007). Readiness for organizational change: the systematic development of a scale. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43, 232-255.

Jafarpoor, M., & Sehat, S. (2013). Studying the role of individual resistance and organizational justice against commitment to planned organizational changes (case of: in governmental, public and private organizations). Managment, 4(8), 71-91. (in Persian)

Judge, T.; Thoresen, C.; Pucik, V., & Welbourne, T. (1999). Managerial coping with organizational change: a dispositional perspective, Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(2), 107-122.

Judson, A. S. (1991). Changing behavior in organizations, Basil Blackwell: Oxford.

Klein, K. J., & Sorra, J. S. (1996). The challenge of innovation implementation. Academy of Management Review, 21, 1055–1080.

Kotter, J. P., & Schlesinger, L. A. (1979). Choosing strategies for change. Harvard Business Review, 57(2), 106-14.

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard business school press: Boston, MA.

Kotter, J. P., & Cohen, D. S. (2002). The Heart of Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Leonard-Barton, D. (1992). Core capabilities and core rigidities: a paradox in managing new product development. Strategic Management Journal, 13(1), 111-129.

Lewin, K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics: Concept, method, and reality in social science: Social equilibria and social change. Human Relations, 1, 5-41.

Linstone, H. A.; Mitroff, I. I., & Hoos, I. R. (1994). The challenge of the 21st century: Managing technology and ourselves in a shrinking world. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Miller, K. I., & Monge, P. R. (1985). Social information and employee anxiety about organizational change. Human Communication Research, 11, 365-386.

Nord, W. R., & Jermier, J. M. (1994). Overcoming resistance to resistance: Insights from a study of the shadows. Public Administration Quarterly, 17, 396-409.

Oreg, S. (2006). Personality, context, and resistance to organizational change. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 15, 73–101.

Oreg, S., & Sverdlik, N. (2011). Ambivalence toward imposed change: the conflict between dispositional resistance to change and the orientation toward the change agent. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(2), 337-349.

Pardo Del Val, M.; Fuetes, C., & Roig-Duban, S. (2012). Participative management and its influence on organizational change, Journal of Management Decision, 50(10), 1843-1860.

Pieters, R., & Zeelenberg, M. (2005). On bad decisions and deciding badly: when intentionbehavior inconsistency is regrettable, Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 97(1), 18-30.

Podsakoff, P. M.; MacKenzie, S. B.; Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-903.

Rafferty, A. E., & Griffin, M. A. (2006). Perceptions of organizational change: A Stress and coping perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1154-1162.

Sagie, A., & Koslowsky, M. (1994). Organizational attitudes and behaviors as a function of participation in strategic and tactical change decisions: An application of path-goal theory. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 37-47.

Sashkin, M., & Burke, W. W. (1987). Organization development in the 1980’s. Journal of Management, 13, 393-417.

Smith, D. K. (1996). Taking charge of change: 10 principles for management people and performance, reading, Ma: Addison, Wesley.

Rogiest, S.; Segers, J., & Witteloostuijn, A. (2015). Climate, communication and participation impacting commitment to change, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(6), 1094 –1106.

Steel, R. P., & Lloyd, R. F. (1988). Cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes of participation in quality circles: Conceptual and empirical findings. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 24, 1-17.

Vakola, M.; Oreg, S., & Armenakis, A. (2013). Reactions to organizational change from an individual-differences perspective: a review of empirical research, in Oreg, S.; Michel, A., & By. R. (Eds), The Psychology of Organizational Change: Viewing Change from the Employee’s Perspective, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 95-123.

Vakola, M. (2014). What's in there for me? Individual readiness to change and the perceived impact of organizational change, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 35(3), 195–209.

Vakola, M. (2016). The reasons behind change recipients’ behavioral reactions: a longitudinal investigation, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 31(1), 202 – 215.

Westaby, J. D. (2002). Identifying specific factors underlying attitudes toward change: using multiple methods to compare expectancy-value theory to reasons theory, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32(5), 1083-1106.

Weber P. S., & Manning R. M. (2001). Cause Maps, Sense making, and Planned Organizational Change. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 37(2), 227-251.