Change Readiness

TLDR

While key cognitions underlying change readiness are well agreed upon, the affective component has been overlooked, and researchers have not applied a multilevel perspective to the construct. The authors aim to address these gaps by incorporating affect into change readiness definitions and measurements, and by proposing guidance for future multilevel research. They develop a multilevel framework that delineates antecedents and consequences of change readiness at individual, work group, and organizational levels, outlining the theoretical processes that generate readiness and reviewing evidence for antecedents at each level. Their review revealed two major limitations in the existing literature: the neglect of affective factors and the lack of a multilevel perspective.

Abstract

The authors conducted a theoretical review of the change readiness literature and identified two major limitations with this work. First, while there is substantial agreement about the key cognitions that underlie change readiness, researchers have not examined the affective element of this attitude. Second, researchers have not adopted a multilevel perspective when considering change readiness. The authors address these limitations and argue that it is important to incorporate affect into definitions of the change readiness construct and also when measuring this construct. They then develop a multilevel framework that identifies the antecedents and consequences of individual, work group, and organizational change readiness. Next, the authors outline the theoretical processes that lead to the development of individual and collective change readiness. They then review theoretical and empirical evidence to identify the antecedents of change readiness at the three levels of analysis. Finally, the authors identify a number of suggestions to guide future research seeking to adopt a multilevel approach to change readiness.