Alannah E. Rafferty

Change Readiness A Multilevel Review

The authors conducted a theoretical review of the change readiness literature and identified two major limitations with this work. First, while there is substantial agreement about the key cognitions that underlie change readiness, researchers have not examined the affective element of this attitude. Second, researchers have not adopted a multilevel perspective when considering change readiness. The authors address these limitations and argue that it is important to incorporate affect into definitions of the change readiness construct and also when measuring this construct. They then develop a multilevel framework that identifies the antecedents and consequences of individual, work group, and organizational change readiness. Next, the authors outline the theoretical processes that lead to the development of individual and collective change readiness. They then review theoretical and empirical evidence to identify the antecedents of change readiness at the three levels of analysis. Finally, the authors identify a number of suggestions to guide future research seeking to adopt a multilevel approach to change readiness.

The Impact of Change Process and Context on Change Reactions and Turnover During a Merger

The authors examined relationships among two measures of the change process adopted by a firm and a measure of the change context and employees’ reactions to a merger. A longitudinal study was conducted. An employee’s perception that he or she had a poor change history was negatively associated with affective commitment to change. As the number of formal change information sessions attended increased, anxiety decreased. High quality change information was negatively associated with anxiety and positively related to affective commitment to change. Affective commitment was positively associated with job satisfaction and negatively associated with turnover intentions, which were positively associated with voluntary turnover.

Differential Moderating Effects of Student- and Parent-Rated Support in the Relationship Between Learning Goal Orientation and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy

Guided by the social cognitive career and cognitive evaluation theories, the authors theorize and test differential predictions regarding the moderating role of student- and parent-rated support when considering the influence of students’ learning goal orientation on career decision-making self-efficacy. Data were collected from 141 undergraduate students and their parents over a 6-month period. Time 1 learning goal orientation was positively related to career decision-making self-efficacy at Time 2. Results also revealed a differential pattern of moderating effects for student ratings of parental support and parent ratings of support. High student ratings of parental support strengthened the association between learning goal orientation and career decision-making self-efficacy. In contrast, low levels of parent-rated support strengthened the relationship between learning goal orientation and career decision-making self-efficacy. The discussion highlights the importance of considering how perceptions of parental support differ between parents and their children.

Team change climate: A group-level analysis of the relationships among change information and change participation, role stressors, and well-being

We explored whether teams develop shared perceptions regarding the quantity and quality of information and the extent of participation in decision making provided in an environment of continuous change. In addition, we examined whether change climate strength moderated relationships between change climate level and team outcomes. We examined relationships among aggregated change information and change participation and aggregated team outcomes, including two role stressors (i.e., role ambiguity and role overload) and two indicators of well-being (i.e., quality of worklife and distress). Questionnaires were distributed in an Australian law enforcement agency and data were used from 178 teams. Structural equation modelling analyses, controlling for a marker variable, were conducted to examine the main effects of aggregated change information and aggregated change participation on aggregated team outcomes. Results provided support for a model that included method effects due to a marker variable. In this model, change information climate was significantly negatively associated with role ambiguity, role overload, and distress, and significantly positively associated with quality of worklife. Change participation climate was significantly positively associated with quality of worklife. Change climate strength did not moderate relationships among change climate level and team outcomes.

Subjective Perceptions of Organizational Change and Employee Resistance to Change: Direct and Mediated Relationships with Employee Well‐being

Researchers have focused on linking objective measures of change exposure, such as the number of downsizing activities implemented, with employee well-being. This has meant that less attention has been paid to employees’ subjective experience of change. The authors examine relationships between employees’ perceptions of the extent of change and the frequency of change and insomnia and psychological well-being. They propose direct and indirect relationships via resistance to change between employees’ subjective experience of change and well-being. Data were collected from 260 employees from a range of different organizations and industries. Respondents completed surveys at two time points, separated by four months. Results revealed significant indirect relationships between subjective perceptions of change and insomnia and employee well-being via affective resistance to change at Time 1 and Time 2. In addition, employees’ subjective reports that change was very frequent were initially positively associated with T1 behavioral resistance to change but also were negatively associated with T2 behavioral resistance to change. Discussion focuses on the importance of managing employees’ perceptions of change. Practically, the authors consider the difficult choices that confront managers when seeking to implement and ‘sell’ change within their organization.

Quality change communication and employee responses to change: an investigation of the moderating effects of individual differences in an experimental setting

Organizational change management is concerned with facilitating the process of change through modification of strategies, structures, and processes, with many authors emphasizing that the support of employees is central to the success of change initiatives (Cummings and Worley, 2005). The role of communication during times of organizational change is well established (Lewis, 1999, 2006). Indeed, the management of external and internal communication processes that deliver key messages at the appropriate time to stakeholders is considered to be a vital component of all successful change implementation plans (Kotter, 1999). Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the core change management practice of communication and the extent to which this practice encourages employees to appraise the situation in a positive way and to develop intentions and subsequent behaviors that are supportive of organizational change. These propositions were examined in a controlled experimental setting in which a vignette was used to manipulate high and low levels of quality change communication and examined in conjunction with a series of individual difference variables chosen for their theoretical relevance to individual reactions to change. Communication during organizational change High-quality change communication is typically defined as information that is accurate, useful, adequately addresses employee concerns, and is presented in a timely and appropriate manner (K. I. Miller and Monge, 1985; V. D. Miller, Johnson, and Grau, 1994). Several process models of change communication have been proposed, each providing recommendations on how to craft formal communication messages that shape the reactions of employees to planned organizational change initiatives. For instance, Armenakis, Harris, and Feild (1999) identified five content domains that a change message must address in order to effectively communicate change to employees. The organization must convey a sense of discrepancy, which is typically achieved through explaining how an organization’s current performance is different from the desired end state.