The psycho-socio-organizational factors of the resistance to organizational change: Case of mergers and acquisitions in the information technology sector

Abstract

Between paradigm and reality, individual’s resistance to change remains an important impediment to the efforts undertaken by different organizations to change. This calls for a better understanding of the motivations and mechanisms that govern it. It is therefore up to us in this study to question the psycho-socio-organizational factors that contribute to this resistance to change and their impact on employees’ attitudes at work.

This study is carried out in the information technology sector in Morocco. As part of a quantitative approach, and using structural equation modeling (SEM), we explored the impact of the psycho-socio-organizational causes of resistance to change on employees' attitudes at work.

The results of this study highlight that a three-dimensional conceptualization of resistance, allowing for ambivalence towards change, better explains employees' reactions to change. Some causes of resistance may have the strongest impact on emotions, others may more directly influence behavior, while others may more influence how employees rationally feel about change. In addition, we validated the mediating role of resistance to change in the dynamics between psycho-socio-organizational factors and employee attitudes within the company. Thus, in this study, affective resistance predicted affective commitment; cognitive resistance predicted intention to leave the organization, and behavioral resistance explained decreased task performance and counterproductive behaviors.

Keywords: resistance to change, organizational commitment, intention to leave, individual performance at work, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

JEL Classification: O15

Paper type: Empirical research