Value congruence and commitment to change in healthcare organizations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between value congruence and affective commitment to change as well as to test the moderating roles of psychological contract breach and workplace ostracism on that very relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 13 university hospitals in Turkey. The sample included 1,113 randomly chosen certified nurses and head nurses of their units. The moderating roles of psychological contract breach and workplace ostracism on the value congruence and affective commitment to change relationship were tested using the moderated hierarchical regression analysis. Findings The moderated hierarchical regression analysis results revealed a significant positive relationship between value congruence and employees’ commitment to change. In addition, this very relation was weaker when both psychological contract breach and workplace ostracism were higher than when they were lower. Practical implications This study showed that employee perception of value congruence increased employee’s affective commitment to change. Organizations can enhance employees’ affective commit by recruiting individuals who fit well within their organizations’ characteristics and by encouraging supervisors to develop close, supportive relationships with subordinates. Moreover, recognizing that employees are likely to experience concern and discomfort about a change initiative along with the fact that such psychological states (psychological contract breach or workplace ostracism) can dramatically impact the effectiveness of change efforts can help organizations to better plan change-related strategies geared towards managing properly such potentially harmful reactions. Originality/value The study provides new insights into the influence that value congruence may have on affective commitment to change and the moderating roles of psychological contract breach and workplace ostracism in the link between value congruence and change commitment. The paper also offers a practical assistance to employees in healthcare management and their leaders interested in building trust, increasing person-organization fit and change commitment, and lowering workplace ostracism.