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Using a systematic item-development framework as a guide (i.e., item development, questionnaire administration, item reduction, scale evaluation, and replication), this article discusses the development and evaluation of an instrument that can be used to gauge readiness for organizational change at an individual level. In all, more than 900 organizational members from the public and private sector participated in the different phases of study, with the questionnaire being tested in two separate organizations. The results suggest that readiness for change is a multidimensional construct influenced by beliefs among employees that (a) they are capable of implementing a proposed change (i.e., change-specific efficacy), (b) the proposed change is appropriate for the organization (i.e., appropriateness), (c) the leaders are committed to the proposed change (i.e., management support), and (d) the proposed change is beneficial to organizational members (i.e., personal valence).
Keywords: readiness for change; scale development; attitudes toward change
Lewin (1947) argued that during an individual's progression through change, the three stages of unfreezing, moving, and refreezing are experienced. Based on this idea, researchers have tried to outline a set of actions that could be taken by change agents to reduce resistance and move organizations and individuals through these stages. For instance, Coch and French (1948) demonstrated the effect various forms of employee participation had on productivity and satisfaction during times of change. They found the greater the extent of participation (i.e., none, participation by representation, and total participation), the more satisfied employees were and the quicker they met new production goals. Others have been spurred by these early efforts to offer further insights into how resistance to change could be reduced (cf. Kotter, 1995; Kotter & Schlesinger, 1979; Lawrence, 1954).
Building on this foundation, Armenakis, Harris, and Mossholder (1993) proposed a model for creating readiness and proposed that readiness was a precursor of resistance and adoption behaviors. One step in their model was assessment. This step is intended to determine just how ready for change employees are before organizational changes are implemented. This assessment enables leaders to identify gaps that may exist between their own expectations about the change initiative and those of other members. If significant gaps are observed and no action taken to close those gaps, resistance would be expected, and therefore, change implementation...