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The purpose of this paper is to explore how experience with organizational change influences employees' reactions to change. While exposure to an increasingly frequent organizational change can lead to change fatigue and cynicism, it can also generate more positive reactions to change. The authors identify experience‐based change capabilities and explore conditions for developing such capabilities.

The paper draws on qualitative interview data from two studies of reactions to planned change. The authors probe employees' accounts of their reactions to change and show how they vary depending on employees' level and type of experience.

The findings suggest that experience provides opportunities for employees to develop their change capabilities, which leads to milder and more constructive reactions to subsequent change initiatives. However, negative experiences can lead to loyal behavior that is based on cynical attitudes.

The findings contribute by identifying experience‐based capabilities among change recipients. The limitations of the study include the threat of self‐selection as employees who remain in the organization may be more prone to loyal behavior.

When employees have extensive change experience, managers must adjust their way of thinking about change. Managers need to be alert to the prominence of more loyal behavior. They should also recognize their own role in generating positive process experience, which is a precondition for developing change capabilities at the employee level.

The study adds to the increasing focus on change recipient perspectives during change and shows how change capabilities can be developed among employees.

This paper seeks to develop a mid-range theory of how change recipient sensemaking processes affect the realization of strategic flexibility during simultaneous change in professional service firms.

The research presented is based on an exploratory embedded case study adopting a qualitative interpretive methodology, conducted at a professional service organization. A sensemaking lens was adopted in order to study organizational change processes. Data was collected through semi-structured open-ended in-depth interviews, and analyzed using first and second order analysis, inspired by the methodology used by Corley and Gioia (2004).

We identified four determinants of change recipient sensemaking: professional identification, dominant organizational discourse, equivocality of expectations, and cross-understanding between thought worlds. Case findings indicate that cognitive and affective dimensions of change recipient sensemaking are strongly interwoven in their effect on realizing strategic flexibility.

We contribute to the competence-based strategic management literature by introducing the concept of change recipient sensemaking in understanding the realization of strategic flexibility; by identifying four major determinants in a context of simultaneous change in a professional service organization; and by highlighting the interwoven and mutually reinforcing cognitive and affective dimensions of professional’s process of constructing meaning.

At the heart of organizational change lies the extent to which individuals cope with the uncertainties and complexities that change introduces into their work lives. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the behavioral reactions of employees to change and their associated reasons for or against a large-scale technological change implemented in a bank.

A total of 146 bank employees located in 40 bank branches participated two times in providing critical incidents regarding their initial and midcourse reactions to this change.

Results showed that anticipated benefits associated with change initiate positive reactions to change. These reactions are maintained positive due to supervisory support. Resistance is activated by perceived high cost-low benefit change at hand and it is shifted to active support when there is open communication and supervisory support.

Until now the majority of research studies on reactions to change do not investigate the duration and/or continuity of a behavior, assuming that once the reasons behind and the behaviors are formulated these will persist over time.

The purpose of this study is to explore how change recipients emotionally resist information and communication technology (ICT)-induced organizational change in practice stage-by-stage.

Following a qualitative case study methodology, this paper integrates Kübler-Ross grief model into a hypothetical change initiative in a critically acclaimed feature film, Up in the Air. The unit of analysis is the main character, Ryan Bingham. As a change recipient, Bingham's emotional reactions are analyzed stage-by-stage.

The study concludes that emotional resistance to ICT-induced organizational change progresses through the five stages in line with Kübler-Ross model. Even though the focus in Kübler-Ross model is on death and dying, the stages in the model are remarkably similar to the reactions of a change recipient. It is also found that the film is an appropriate instrument to demonstrate the complicated reality and intricate details of resistance, providing abundant content for the analysis of psychological components of resistance.

The exploration of stages of emotional resistance may act as a guideline for leaders to follow throughout a change process. The study is expected to prepare the leaders for the reactions of change recipients so that they can deliver strong leadership throughout periods of change.

The originality of the study lies in the fact that it provides an opportunity to advance the understanding of the abstract concept of resistance, bridges the widely-discussed research-practice gap and analyze emotional resistance stage-by-stage by integrating Kübler-Ross model to a hypothetical change initiative.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a standardized, psychometrically sound instrument for the emerging construct of change recipient proactivity (CRP), using a deductive approach.

Using a systematic item-development framework as a guide (i.e. item generation, questionnaire administration, item reduction and scale evaluation) and based on a sample of 414 white-collar employees, this paper discusses the development and validation of an instrument that can be used to measure change recipient’s proactive behavioral responses to planned change efforts.

Results suggest that our proposed CRP scale is internally consistent (reliable) and valid in that it is conceptually distinct from, yet empirically correlated with neighboring constructs such as affective commitment to change, readiness for change and proactive personality.

The findings illustrate that change recipients can demonstrate proactive behaviors in response to change efforts. However, this study’s contribution is only a first step, requiring further theoretical and methodological refinement of the scale in different contexts.

The deductive nature of our study resulted in a comprehensive and domain-specific scale assessing recipients’ proactive responses to organizational change efforts. This opens doors to empirical studies on examining the conditions under which change recipients “may” step outside the boundaries of passivity to respond positively and proactivity to organizational change efforts.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership style and factors of employees’ reactions towards organizational change in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan. Furthermore, to understand the importance of followership it has been analyzed as a moderating variable in the relationship between transformational leadership style and factors of employees’ reactions.

A mixed methods study design was applied to investigate the factors underlying the phenomenon of transformational leadership and organizational change. A quantitative research design was followed by qualitative research questions to get more in-depth insights into the used relationships. The primary purpose of the qualitative study design was to support and strengthened the results of the main quantitative research design.

The results of the study showed that transformational leadership style was positively related to all three factors of employees’ reactions (frequency of change, trust in management and employees’ participation) towards organizational change. Moreover, followership has a significant effect on the relationship between transformational leadership style and factors of employees’ reaction.

This study suggests that for successful implementation of change in organizations, the employees play an important role and that managers with transformational leadership behaviour play a critical role in shaping positive change reactions. This study also highlights that both transformational leadership and followership are essential elements in shaping recipients’ reactions, with active followers contributing to the role of leadership in the change process.

This study is the first attempt specifically in Asian context to highlight the role of followership as a moderating variable in leadership theory in the organizational change context.

The failure rate of change is high amongst countries and cultures where collectivism, destructive politics and resistance are high. Therefore, change leaders are more focused on exploring how they can create networking and socialization amongst major organizational stakeholders that can minimize detrimental cynicism and lobbying during change implementation. This study is an attempt to shed light on how Social Networking Applications (henceforth SNAs) can facilitate change implementation processes in the insurance sector.

The individual reaction and interaction realities during the change process cannot be discovered once and for all as there are varied perspectives on the same subjects. Therefore, a social constructionist position was used to understand the different realties of change managers and change recipients using the context of insurance sector.

The study documented how SNAs can play an active role in addressing the concerns of employees as well as managing and protecting knowledge sharing to facilitate the change implementation process. The collaborative and interactive nature of SNAs can enhance richness in knowledge sharing and can facilitate the participation of employees. Therefore, management should monitor these platforms as a means to improve the change process and to address the concerns of employees. These networking channels which include WhatsApp and Facebook can enhance social interactions, support and acceptance at individual and organizational levels.

Social media has become a familiar tool for employees to use to discuss internal changes and policies within their organizations. Social media enhances the richness, reach, knowledge exchange and effective internal communication potential amongst organizational change stakeholders. Using social media, change recipients are now more empowered and connected with their leadership that ever before. It is now easier to facilitate decision making during the change formulation and implementation process.

Social media applications have become necessary to ensure incremental and radical changes to the survival of dynamic businesses. The findings of this study are beneficial for change leaders and recipients of change to implement successful organizational change using social media tools. The effective and efficient use of social media applications helps organizations to foster knowledge amongst employees and they can address various critical issues, that is resistance to change, lower levels of knowledge sharing and support for change acceptance and lack of employee participation in decision making.

There is an inadequate understanding regarding how SNAs play a role in facilitating the change process in both public and private sector organizations. This study offers a social mchange facilitation model with the help of social learning, social networking and social behaviourism theories.

Organizational change is usually stressful and destabilizing for employees, for whom coping with the induced stress is primordial to commit to the change. This paper aims to unravel how and when change recipients can enact different coping strategies and, ultimately, manifest different forms of commitment to change.

We propose a theoretical model that identifies challenge appraisal and hindrance appraisal as two primary appraisals of organizational change that fuel, respectively, proactive and preventive coping strategies and, indirectly, affective and normative forms of commitment to change. Moreover, this framework suggests that coping strategies and commitment are influenced by the secondary appraisal of two vital resources – resilience and POS – allowing individuals to react effectively to primary change-related appraisals. Finally, the relationship between coping strategies and the components of commitment to change is proposed to be moderated by employees' regulatory focus.

Using appraisal theory and conservation of resources theory as guiding frameworks, our integrated model describes the antecedents, processes and boundary conditions associated with coping with the stress of organizational change and how they ultimately influence commitment to it.

This is the first theoretical paper to identify a conditional dual path to disclose the different reactions that change recipients can manifest in response to the stressful aspects of organizational change.

The purpose of this paper is to build a new model of organisational change in Chinese hospitals drawing in all the key factors which explain the change process. At a time of significant change in Chinese hospitals, understanding change recipients’ responses is critical. For this study, a model of their responses to change has been constructed from previous models and compared with a case study of dramatic change in a Chinese hospital. A new model has been produced which may be generalizable to other Chinese hospitals.

Two existing models of organizational change were merged, and the new model was tested using data collected from a research site at a single Chinese hospital where the change program included the balanced scorecard performance management system, a new pay-related performance system and significant strategic change.

A final revised model was created which built in the external context, including the professional culture and national culture which have complex impacts on individuals during a change process, in both beneficial and harmful ways.

Multi-informants for data collection and longitudinal design in future research would be required for the further understanding of the relationships between the variables of this study. A single case study is not sufficient; broader testing is required.

The factors that impact on the individuals during change should be understood better by Chinese hospital managers.

This is a new model which adds to the existing literature. Although it is built primarily around hospitals, it may have relevance to other contexts in China.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze change process perceptions of public service employees and document how change readiness belief salience fluctuates and evolves throughout the implementation of a major organizational restructuring effort.

This research is a longitudinal multiple-case study of a major transformation initiative in a large North American public recreation organization. Over the course of 15 months, the authors conducted four rounds of personal interviews with 19 participants (65 interviews in total, each lasting 25–45 min). Additionally, the authors analyzed internal e-mail correspondence, memos, and meeting agendas, as well as external stakeholder communication. Finally, the primary researcher spent a significant amount of time collecting field notes while shadowing high-level managers and employees and attending meetings.

Overall, the authors documented a clear hierarchy of change readiness dimensions. The relative strength and temporal persistence of these dimensions can be traced back to various public organizing particularities. Moreover, the authors found that an initial focus on some readiness dimensions facilitated subsequent sensemaking processes whereas others hindered such engagement with the change project.

This research is the first to empirically document temporal fluidity of change readiness dimensions and salience. Moreover, it offers a rare in-depth look at a changing public service organization.

This research helps change agents in developing tailored change messages and to better understand potential sources of frustration and resistance to change efforts.

No similar efforts exist to document the underlying dynamism of evolving change readiness perceptions.