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Building Employee Commitment to Change Across Organizational Levels: The Influence of Hierarchical Distance and Direct Managers' Transformational Leadership

Author

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  • N. Sharon Hill

    (Department of Management, School of Business, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052)

  • Myeong-Gu Seo

    (Department of Management and Organization, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742)

  • Jae Hyeung Kang

    (Department of Management School of Business, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052)

  • M. Susan Taylor

    (Department of Management and Organization, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742)

Abstract

Research has shown that employees' affective and normative commitment to change (ACC and NCC, respectively) positively influence their behaviors supporting change; however, organizations are frequently unsuccessful in motivating appropriate levels of employee commitment to change. Using longitudinal, multilevel data collected from a large federal government agency implementing radical organizational change, we extend extant research related to antecedents of commitment to change by examining how employees' hierarchical distance (the number of reporting levels between an employee and the top management team) and the transformational leadership of their direct (immediate) manager both relate to their ACC and NCC. We also shed light on important mechanisms that explain these two relationships by examining the mediating role of employees' perceived effectiveness of top management's change-related communications (TMCs), including the top-down and bottom-up components of TMC. Taking advantage of a longitudinal field design, we tested these antecedents of commitment to change at Time 1 and the longitudinal effects of the Time 1 predictors on commitment to change 12 months later (Time 2). At Time 1, findings supported both the predicted direct and mediated effects. Hierarchical distance and perceived TMC remained significant predictors of ACC and NCC over a one-year follow-up period; however, direct managers' transformational leadership behaviors did not. The study extends previous findings related to antecedents of employee commitment to change and also shows the interplay between different levels of leadership in shaping employee affective and normative commitment to radical organizational change.

Suggested Citation

  • N. Sharon Hill & Myeong-Gu Seo & Jae Hyeung Kang & M. Susan Taylor, 2012. "Building Employee Commitment to Change Across Organizational Levels: The Influence of Hierarchical Distance and Direct Managers' Transformational Leadership," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(3), pages 758-777, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:23:y:2012:i:3:p:758-777
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0662
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Karen J. Jansen, 2004. "From Persistence to Pursuit: A Longitudinal Examination of Momentum During the Early Stages of Strategic Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 276-294, June.
    2. Aryee, Samuel & Chen, Zhen Xiong & Budhwar, Pawan S., 2004. "Exchange fairness and employee performance: An examination of the relationship between organizational politics and procedural justice," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 1-14, May.
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