Testing Interactive Effects of Commitment and Perceived Change Advocacy on Change Readiness: Investigating the Social Dynamics of Organizational Change

Abstract

In a study of the social dynamics in organizational change, the present research examined whether employees who are more committed to their top managers, supervisors, and workgroups have greater change readiness than those with lower commitment. Moreover, the study investigated whether the associations between commitment and change readiness depend on the perceived advocacy of change by commitment targets. Using data from 220 blue-collar workers, results showed higher change readiness among employees with greater commitment, and, as predicted, the commitment was more strongly related to change readiness when the target of one's commitment had greater change advocacy. Conversely, the positive effects of commitment on change readiness disappeared or even turned negative if the target's change advocacy was low. Therefore, change managers should try to enhance change support among relevant commitment targets, or foster commitment to groups that advocate for change. Overall, the study contributes to our understanding of the role of commitment in the context of organizational change, by identifying specific conditions under which commitment is linked to change readiness.