Measurement of perceived organizational readiness for change and employees' attitudes toward change in the public sector

This dissertation was undertaken to develop and validate a conceptual model linking perceived organizational readiness for change (PORC), employees' attitudes toward change, individual dispositions, and job type. To test the model, it was necessary to develop measures of PORC and attitudes toward change. This was done using the Act Frequency Approach. The measures and the model were tested using an online survey administered in four government departments (N = 583).

Two measures of attitudes towards change were identified in this thesis: commitment (spreading the change and implementing it personally) and resistance (voicing concerns about the change). While the measures of commitment were reliable and valid, the measure of resistance was not as conceptualized in the literature. While the data suggest that commitment and resistance may be two poles of the same attitude continuum, findings in this area were inconclusive.

Two reliable and valid measures of PORC were also developed. Perceived organizational readiness for change consists of three subscales: commitment of senior management to the change, competence of the change agents, and support of the immediate manager. Perceived organizational unreadiness for change consists of three subscales: poor communication, adverse impact of the change on work, and lack of employee involvement in the change process. The data support the idea that these measures form a continuum.

Analysis of the model determined the following. PORC and individual dispositions predicted employees' commitment to change. Individual dispositions were more important predictors of commitment than PORC. Individual dispositions were the only predictors of resistance to change. Personality was a better predictor of attitudes toward change for non-managers than for managers. PORC partially mediated the relationship between individual dispositions and commitment to change, but not between job type and attitudes toward change.

Findings of this research contribute to the change management literature and provide advice to public service organizations with respect to managing change. They also fill a void in the literature with respect to the measurement of PORC and attitudes toward change.