Climate, communication and participation impacting commitment to change
Journal of Organizational Change Management
ISSN: 0953-4814
Article publication date: 12 October 2015
Abstract
Purpose
Through the combination of change process, context and content the purpose of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of failure or success of organizational change. This study considers the effect of organizational climate on affective commitment to change simultaneously with quality change communication and employee participation during the change process, while controlling for perceived change impact.
Design/methodology/approach
The findings are based on 134 survey responses gathered through surveys in two police forces that recently underwent a merger.
Findings
First, quality change communication is the only process variable that directly impacts affective commitment to change. Second, the results indicate that an involvement-oriented climate positively affects affective commitment to change, mediated through quality change communication.
Originality/value
First, the general understanding of the impact of climate on organizational change is very limited. Second, employee participation and quality change communication are generally studied together. The authors propose that both process variables each have their unique impact on attitudes toward change.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research is largely funded by the European Commission as part of FP7 in the context of the COMPOSITE project (contract number 241918).
Citation
Rogiest, S., Segers, J. and van Witteloostuijn, A. (2015), "Climate, communication and participation impacting commitment to change", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 1094-1106. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-06-2015-0101
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited