Employee Commitment in Times of Change: Management Journal
Employee Commitment in Times of Change:
Assessing the Importance of Attitudes Toward
Organizational Change†
Steven M. Elias*
Department of Psychology, Auburn University Montgomery, Montgomery, AL
Organizations are dynamic and changing entities. Variables associated with organizational change have been shown to serve as mediators of several individual difference variable/workrelated outcome relationships. This study examines three potential antecedents of 258 police officers’ attitudes toward organizational change (ATOC), and whether ATOC mediates the relationships between these antecedents and affective organizational commitment (AOC). At the time of data collection, the officers’ police department was restructuring its organizational design. Structural equation modeling indicates the growth need strength/AOC relationship is fully mediated, whereas the focus of control/AOC and internal work motivation/AOC relationships are partially mediated by ATOC. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Keywords: attitudes toward change; organizational change; organizational commitment
The body of literature dedicated to the understanding of organizational change is impressive, and given that organizations continue to make adjustments and modifications at amazing rates, we are sure to see much more research in this area. Noteworthy is the fact that until recently much of the research focusing on issues relevant to organizational change has focused on organizational-level concerns rather than individual-level concerns (Judge, Thoresen, Pucik,
1
†The author gratefully acknowledges the thoughtful comments of Russell Cropanzano and the manuscript’s anonymous reviewers. *Corresponding Author: Tel.: 334-244-3349; Fax: 334-244-3826
E-mail: selias@mail.aum.edu
Journal of Management, Vol. XX No. X, Month XXXX xx-xx
DOI: 10.1177/0149206307308910
© 2007 Southern Management Association. All rights reserved.
Journal of Management
Assessing the Importance of Attitudes Toward
Organizational Change†
Steven M. Elias*
Department of Psychology, Auburn University Montgomery, Montgomery, AL
Organizations are dynamic and changing entities. Variables associated with organizational change have been shown to serve as mediators of several individual difference variable/workrelated outcome relationships. This study examines three potential antecedents of 258 police officers’ attitudes toward organizational change (ATOC), and whether ATOC mediates the relationships between these antecedents and affective organizational commitment (AOC). At the time of data collection, the officers’ police department was restructuring its organizational design. Structural equation modeling indicates the growth need strength/AOC relationship is fully mediated, whereas the focus of control/AOC and internal work motivation/AOC relationships are partially mediated by ATOC. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Keywords: attitudes toward change; organizational change; organizational commitment
The body of literature dedicated to the understanding of organizational change is impressive, and given that organizations continue to make adjustments and modifications at amazing rates, we are sure to see much more research in this area. Noteworthy is the fact that until recently much of the research focusing on issues relevant to organizational change has focused on organizational-level concerns rather than individual-level concerns (Judge, Thoresen, Pucik,
1
†The author gratefully acknowledges the thoughtful comments of Russell Cropanzano and the manuscript’s anonymous reviewers. *Corresponding Author: Tel.: 334-244-3349; Fax: 334-244-3826
E-mail: selias@mail.aum.edu
Journal of Management, Vol. XX No. X, Month XXXX xx-xx
DOI: 10.1177/0149206307308910
© 2007 Southern Management Association. All rights reserved.
Journal of Management
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