People or Trust in Building Commitment to Change?

Abstract

The success of organizational change lies on people, in this regard on employee’s commitment to change. On the other hand, there are many variables that can influence the success of organizational change, such as the content of the change, the process of the change, individual characteristics, leadership, external environment and organizational context. The objective of this study is to identify the major contributor to people’s commitment to change, namely psychological empowerment (individual characteristics), and organizational trust (organizational context). The study was conducted at state owned organizations with 539 respondents. Data was collected using Commitment to Change Inventory, Psychological Empowerment, and Organizational trust Inventory. The data were analyzed using Multiple Regression and Structural Equation Model (SEM). The results of the study showed that both Psychological Empowerment and Organizational Trust have positive and significant correlation and contribution to Commitment to Change. The study also showed that both Organizational Trust and Psychological Empowerment have higher impact to affective commitment to change compares to other dimensions of commitment to change. The implications of the study can be used for organizational change practitioner, to create trustworthy organizational climate, and to develop Psychological Empowerment, in order to create high commitment to change.