Taking Change to Heart: Exploring Emotions Experienced Through Change Events

Abstract

This chapter addresses the confluence of emotions, justice, and organizational change. Drawing on these three literatures, the chapter provides empirical analysis of over 100 separate organizational change events. The findings confirm previous research regarding patterns among emotions and demonstrate these patterns apply in the specific context of change. The findings also suggest that the degree of clarity one has when considering a change event matches the degree of intensity with which one experiences emotion. Finally, the findings suggest that even nominal change events are associated with intense experience of emotions. The chapter links these findings to several suggestions for further research.

Citation

Matheny, J.A. and Smollan, R.K. (2005), "Taking Change to Heart: Exploring Emotions Experienced Through Change Events", Ashkanasy, N.M., Zerbe, W.J. and Härtel, C.E.J. (Ed.) The Effect of Affect in Organizational Settings (Research on Emotion in Organizations, Vol. 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 173-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1746-9791(05)01108-9