A framework for assessing commitment to change. Process and context variables of organizational change

Major organizational changes yield limited success. Failure of change is frequently due to a lack of commitment and motivation of the employees who have to implement the change. In this paper a framework is developed in which employees' emotional involvement and their commitment to change is explained by change process variables and internal context variables. The process variables refer to the different aspects organizations have to follow in implementing fundamental changes. The internal context variables are located at the organizational, work unit and individual level. We found that emotional involvement is an important mediating variable between change process and context variables and commitment to change. To explore the merits of this framework, we studied the perceptions of employees involved in major changes of different organizations. Results indicated that the organizations change history, jobsatisfaction, participation in the change process, availability of time and emotional involvement are important variables in understanding commitment to change. Study findings are discussed and implications for research and theory-building are suggested. Key words: organizational change, commitment, emotional involvement