Commitment to Change and its Antecedents: Perceived Management Support for Change, Attitudes Towards Change, Self-efficacy and Job Demands

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to gain insight into possible antecedents of commitment to change (CC). Due to the novelty of CC, paired with the increasing need for continuous change, knowledge about how to initiate CC in employees is of immense importance, especially for those that teach future generations of the workforce. I conducted a cross-sectional survey study among 456 employees working in the educational sector, assessing perceived management support for change, positive attitudes towards change, perceived self-efficacy and perceived job demands as possible antecedents of CC. I analyzed the data using a multiple linear regression analysis and found a non-significant relationship between management support and CC, as well as between self-efficacy and CC. In addition, I found that positive attitudes towards change, as well as job demands were significantly positively associated with CC. Finally, I found that job demands negatively moderated the association between self-efficacy and CC. Resulting from this, the present study identified positive attitudes towards change, job demands and the interplay between job demands and self-efficacy as possible antecedents of CC. I will discuss implications for theory and practice. Keywords: Commitment, management support, attitudes, self- efficacy, job demands