Factors influencing employee commitment to organizational

change: Moving toward an inclusionary environment

by Quinn, Michael D., Sc.D., University of New Haven, 2001 , 318 pages; AAT DP11428

Abstract (Summary)

Understanding employee commitment to change is an important consideration to the success of a

firm's effort in organizational transformation. This retrospective case study of a nuclear utility in serious
decline focused on the factors influencing employee commitment to organizational change as the
company evolved over a five year period and three phase changes toward an inclusionary
environment, i.e., as it transitioned from one of dissent to one that was conducive to the raising of
issues and concerns.

The primary objective in this effort was to extend the work of Neal (1985), who developed a theory
based on manager commitment to organizational change, using a critical event construct. To further
evolve this significant antecedent research, my effort sought to identify the factors impacting
employee commitment to organizational change, using a critical incident approach.

The research approach was ethnographic, in that organizational events and phenomena were
explored, with an emphasis on description and discovery. The approach involved a critical incident
analysis, interviews, and a survey of a cross-sectional group of expert organizational members, which
included non-exempt employees, managers, executives, consultants, and former employees.

Findings corroborated several of Neal's (1985) conclusions. The application of Neal's area of focus
concept (i.e., self, group, and organizational) in the management context to an employee context of
commitment to organizational change was similar in certain phases of employee commitment, and
divergent in others.

At various intervals in three commitment to change phases identified in the research, sixteen factors
were identified as highly impactful to employee commitment to organizational change.

Employee commitment to change to an inclusionary environment was institutionalized in this case,

however employee commitment to on-going, significant organizational change did not attain a stage
of institutionalization.

Achievement of milestones was strongly related to employee commitment to change, becoming

increasingly so as the three phases evolved. This factor had the most significant impact on employee
commitment to change in the third phase.

Several recommendations for further research were made, and a discussion on the implications of the
findings to leadership, consultants, and researchers was provided.

Indexing (document details)

School: University of New Haven

School United States -- Connecticut
Location:
Keyword(s): Employee commitment, Organizational change, Inclusionary
Source: DAI-A 65/08, p. 3064, Feb 2005
Source type: Dissertation
Subjects: Management, Employee attitude, Organizational change, Studies
Publication AAT DP11428
Number:
ISBN: 9780496025473
Document http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
URL:
did=790223771&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=97393&RQT=309&VName
=PQD
ProQuest 790223771
document ID:

The nature of employee commitment: Exploring the value of

the multidimensional perspective
by Bryant, Mark Evan, Ph.D., North Carolina State University, 2001 , 175 pages; AAT 3016298

Abstract (Summary)

The primary purpose of the present research was to further explore the usefulness of examining
employee commitment as a multidimensional construct. More specifically, the role of matched foci
(i.e., supervisor, coworker, and organization) and matched bases (i.e., internalization and
identification) of commitment in predicting attitudes (i.e., satisfaction) and behavior (i.e., organizational
citizenship behavior) was examined. The term "matched" indicates that the source of the predictor and
criterion measures were the same (i.e., supervisor commitment and satisfaction with the supervisor). In
the present study each of the criterion variables was regressed onto the matched source of
commitment. Similarly, when examining the role of bases, each criterion variable was regressed onto
its matched measure of internalization and identification. Another purpose of this study was to explore
the nature of the relationship between commitment to different foci. More specifically, this study sought
to determine if value similarity, or the extent to which individuals perceive the values between two foci
to be similar, moderates the relationship between those two foci. Finally, this study also focused on
examining the role of dispositions (i.e., self-monitoring) in both influencing commitment and moderating
the relationship between commitment and prosocial behavior.

One hundred and ten volunteers from 22 tire sales/service centers participated in the present study.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted in order to assess the psychometric properties of the
multi-item scales. Stepwise hierarchical regression was used to test all experimental hypotheses.
Results provided moderate support for the role of matched commitment in predicting both satisfaction
and citizenship behavior. Some support was also obtained for the predictive role of matched bases of
commitment. However, results failed to provide any evidence that value similarity moderated the
relationship between commitment to two foci. Further, no support was obtained for the role of self-
monitoring in influencing commitment. Similarly, no evidence was found to suggest that self-monitoring
moderates the relationship between commitment and prosocial behavior. Implications for these
findings are discussed.

Indexing (document details)

Advisor: Pond, Samuel B., III

School: North Carolina State University
School United States -- North Carolina
Location:
Keyword(s): Employee, Commitment, Psychological contract
Source: DAI-B 62/06, p. 2980, Dec 2001
Source type: Dissertation
Subjects: Occupational psychology, Management, Employee attitude, Studies
Publication AAT 3016298
Number:
ISBN: 97804932686210
Document http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
URL:
did=728992291&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=97393&RQT=309&VName
=PQD
ProQuest 728992291
document ID: