Organizational Justice and Readiness for Change: A Concomitant Examination of the Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Identification

Survival in today’s global economy requires organizations to be flexible and adapt readily to the ever-changing marketplace. However, more than 70% of organizational change initiatives fail, mostly due to employees’ resistance to change. The literature has identified readiness for change (RFC) as an important cognitive precursor of resistance. A body of research has accordingly investigated the determinants of employees’ RFC. In particular, RFC has been shown to be positively predicted by employees’ perceptions of fair treatment. Little is known, however, on the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Relying on social exchange theory and social identity theory, this paper investigates the concomitant mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS) and organizational identification (OID) between overall justice and RFC. One hundred and forty-five employees of a company located in France participated in a survey-based study. Results of the path analyses indicated that POS mediates the positive effect of organizational justice on RFC, while OID does not act as a mediator in this relationship. As a whole, these results show the relevance of social exchange theory to better understand how employees become ready to change in organizational settings

L'influence de la justice sur le readiness for change : mieux comprendre les modalités de son influence

Successful implementations of in-house changes are crucial for organizations in order to adapt to the ever-changing economic and technological environment. Nevertheless, too often change initiatives fall short because of employees’ reactions regarding these changes. Employees’ perceptions of readiness for change have been revealed as a critical determinant of successful change implementations. It is considered as a major advancement in change literature. Preliminary empirical findings have recently demonstrated that justice perceptions foster readiness for change. Although research has steadily evidenced that justice perceptions are a substantial factor of a wide range of positive attitudes and behaviors at work, very little attention has been given to the influence of justice on readiness for change. This dissertation is dedicated to the examination of the relationship between justice and readiness for change. More precisely, it aims at confirming the impact of justice on readiness for change and exploring the characteristics of the relationship between these two key concepts, by addressing three fundamental questions: (1) how does justice influence readiness for change? (2) who, by means of fair treatment, influence readiness for change? (3) when does justice affect readiness for change? Based on three empirical studies, the present dissertation provides answers to these questions. Furthermore, it discusses theoretical implications, including the application of the fairness heuristic theory in change settings, and managerial implications, by outlining concrete means to enhance the chance of successful changes in organizations.(PSYE - Sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation) -- UCL, 202

Readiness for change: which source of justice and support really matters?

Purpose Although justice perceptions have been proven to be a critical determinant of readiness for change (RFC), research is still needed to investigate which source(s) of justice fosters employee's preparedness to face change within his/her organization. The aim of this study is to examine the simultaneous influence of three sources of justice, namely the organization, the supervisor and the coworkers, on RFC through perceived organizational support, perceived supervisor support and perceived coworker support, respectively. Design/methodology/approach Three different sets of data were collected from employees in the United States and in Europe. Path analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Findings The results indicated that perceived organizational support mediates the relationship between organizational justice and RFC. Conversely, however, the effect of supervisory justice and coworkers justice on RFC was not mediated by perceived supervisor support and perceived coworker support. Originality/value This study is the first to examine the simultaneous influence of organizational, supervisory and coworkers justice on RFC. In doing so, it highlights the need to consider justice stemming from the organization as a priority when considering implementing an organizational change, as opposed to justice emanating from the supervisor and coworkers. In addition, this study responds to long-standing calls for the simultaneous examination of multiple sources of justice and the exploration of the largely neglected role of justice stemming from coworkers

Overall justice, perceived organizational support and readiness for change: The moderating role of perceived organizational competence

Purpose The objective of this research is to investigate the mechanisms and the conditions under which experiencing organizational justice fosters employees’ readiness for change. First, this study tests the mediating role of perceived organizational support between overall justice and readiness for change. Second, it examines whether perceived organizational competence moderates this indirect positive effect. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from US employees (N=230) facing organizational change. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to test the measurement model. Moderated mediation analyses, based on Hayes’(2013) method, were used to examine the hypotheses. Findings Overall, the findings support the hypotheses. Justice influences readiness for change through perceived organizational support only for employees who perceive their organization as highly competent. Originality/value While a few studies have shown that justice fosters readiness for change, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms and conditions under which justice affects readiness for change. In addition, this research highlights in particular the importance of considering how employees assess the “can do” characteristic of their company in the context of organizational change

Organizational Justice and Readiness for Change: A Concomitant Examination of the Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Identification

Survival in today’s global economy requires organizations to be flexible and adapt readily to the ever-changing marketplace. However, more than 70% of organizational change initiatives fail, mostly due to employees’ resistance to change. The literature has identified readiness for change (RFC) as an important cognitive precursor of resistance. A body of research has accordingly investigated the determinants of employees’ RFC. In particular, RFC has been shown to be positively predicted by employees’ perceptions of fair treatment. Little is known, however, on the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Relying on social exchange theory and social identity theory, this paper investigates the concomitant mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS) and organizational identification (OID) between overall justice and RFC. One hundred and forty-five employees of a company located in France participated in a survey-based study. Results of the path analyses indicated that POS mediates the positive effect of organizational justice on RFC, while OID does not act as a mediator in this relationship. As a whole, these results show the relevance of social exchange theory to better understand how employees become ready to change in organizational settings