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The considerable rate of change implementation failure reported by organisations worldwide has led researchers to scrutinize key individual and contextual factors contributing to the success and sustainability of organisational transformations. In view of this, the present study aimed to uncover whether and how the adequacy of change-related communications, the opportunity for participation in change, and the level of affective commitment to a changing organisation, related to readiness and resistance attitudes. In addition, this study sought to explore the largely under-investigated role of readiness for change as a precursor to change-resistant attitudes, and its role as a mediator of the relationship between contextual antecedents and change resistance. Survey responses collected from a sample of 102 employees affiliated to changing organisations in New Zealand and Australia suggest unique relationships between the contextual antecedents measured, and change readiness and resistance. Moreover, the results indicate that readiness for change may mediate the relationship between these contextual antecedents and intent to resist change. The implications and applications of these findings are discussed.
Keywords: Readiness for Change, Resistance to Change, Communication, Affective Commitment
Increasing globalisation, technological innovation, changing government laws and regulations, political events, and workforce characteristics constitute the foremost triggers of organisational flexibility (Pfeffer, 1994), and require ongoing, often major changes in organisations. Although change has become commonplace in modern organisations, the reported failure rates of change implementation range from 40% to as high as 70% (By, 2005; Isern & Pung, 2007). These statistics have prompted researchers and practitioners alike to investigate the causes underlying change failure.
While a myriad of factors can be ascribed to unsuccessful transformations, including pressures from the business environment and inadequate organisational infrastructure, employee resistance has been identified as a primary source of change implementation failure across a range of organisations and industries worldwide (Erwin & Garman, 2010; Maurer, 1996; Reger et al., 1994; Spiker & Lesser, 1995; Waldersee & Griffiths, 1996). The extant literature suggests that employee resistance may be the upshot of managerial failure to acknowledge or value employee input, to manage change-related attitudes, and to consider the impact of workforce involvement on change planning, implementation and sustainability (Armenakis, Harris, & Mossholder, 1993; Courpasson, Dany, & Clegg, 2012; George & Jones, 2001; Lau & Woodman, 1995). Importantly, recent research has suggested...