Climate, communication and participation impacting commitment to change

Purpose – Through the combination of change process, context and content the purpose of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of failure or success of organizational change. This study considers the effect of organizational climate on affective commitment to change simultaneously with quality change communication and employee participation during the change process, while controlling for perceived change impact. Design/methodology/approach – The findings are based on 134 survey responses gathered through surveys in two police forces that recently underwent a merger. Findings – First, quality change communication is the only process variable that directly impacts affective commitment to change. Second, the results indicate that an involvement-oriented climate positively affects affective commitment to change, mediated through quality change communication. Originality/value – First, the general understanding of the impact of climate on organizational change is very limited. Second, employee participation and quality change communication are generally studied together. The authors propose that both process variables each have their unique impact on attitudes toward change.