Change in police organizations: A study of commitment, communication, culture, leadership and participiation

Three studies empirically test the impact of change context, process and individual characteristics on employee commitment. The first study highlights the significance of an involvement-oriented climate when changing an organization. The results show that such a climate increases quality change communication as well as employees’ positive view on change. Additionally, the analyses of change processes confirm the benefits of timely, high-quality communication during change initiatives. With regards to employee participation, in contrast, we found this has a negative effect in a high formalization climate. In the second study, the relation between employee participation and commitment to change is further probed. The results show that for individuals with high development orientation towards leadership, high employee participation during organizational change leads to a rise in affective commitment to change. In contrast, for employees with high dominance orientation, high participation in decision-making reduces their positive attitude towards change. The third study shows that older employees perceive change consequences more positively. The perceived change consequences, in turn, significantly impact commitment to change and to the organization.