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Cited by 203Organizational Change and LeadershipJob Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorOrganizational Management and Change

Building Employee Commitment to Change Across Organizational Levels: The Influence of Hierarchical Distance and Direct Managers' Transformational Leadership

Hill, N. Sharon, Seo, Myeong-Gu, Kang, Jae Hyeung, Taylor, M. Susan·2012·Organization Science
DOI 10.1287/orsc.1110.0662
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Abstract

Research has shown that employees' affective and normative commitment to change (ACC and NCC, respectively) positively influence their behaviors supporting change; however, organizations are frequently unsuccessful in motivating appropriate levels of employee commitment to change. Using longitudinal, multilevel data collected from a large federal government agency implementing radical organizational change, we extend extant research related to antecedents of commitment to change by examining how employees' hierarchical distance (the number of reporting levels between an employee and the top management team) and the transformational leadership of their direct (immediate) manager both relate to their ACC and NCC. We also shed light on important mechanisms that explain these two relationships by examining the mediating role of employees' perceived effectiveness of top management's change-related communications (TMCs), including the top-down and bottom-up components of TMC. Taking advantage of a longitudinal field design, we tested these antecedents of commitment to change at Time 1 and the longitudinal effects of the Time 1 predictors on commitment to change 12 months later (Time 2). At Time 1, findings supported both the predicted direct and mediated effects. Hierarchical distance and perceived TMC remained significant predictors of ACC and NCC over a one-year follow-up period; however, direct managers' transformational leadership behaviors did not. The study extends previous findings related to antecedents of employee commitment to change and also shows the interplay between different levels of leadership in shaping employee affective and normative commitment to radical organizational change.

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  • Research has shown that leaders influence employee attitudes toward EBIs, commitment to organizational change, and improvement in leader EBI support behaviors.

    “Research has also shed light on the role of leaders in influencing employee attitudes toward EBI (Aarons, 2006), commitment to organizational change (Hill, Seo, Kang, & Taylor, 2012), and improving leader EBI support behaviors (Aarons, Ehrhart, Farahnak, & Hurlburt, 2015).”

    From The Roles of System and Organizational Leadership in System-Wide Evidence-Based Intervention Sustainment: A Mixed-Method Study (2016) · cites this paper as Hill, Seo, Kang, & Taylor, 2012

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Authors
Hill, N. S., Seo, M.-G., Kang, J. H., & Taylor, M. S.
Affiliations
  • George Washington University (US)
  • University of Maryland, College Park (US)
ORCID
Venue
Organization Science
Publisher
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)
Published
2012-06
Volume
23
Issue
3
Pages
758-777
ISSN
  • 1047-7039 (ISSN-L)
  • 1526-5455
DOI
10.1287/orsc.1110.0662
OpenAlex
W2158007881
Cited by
203
References
103
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 2
FWCI
7.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Organization Science (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Organizational Change and Leadership
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Organizational Management and Change
Keywords
commitment to change, affective commitment to change, hierarchical distance, transformational leadership, top management communication, radical organizational change, federal agencies, multilevel leadership

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