Interplay of Change Climate and Participation in the Change Process and its Effect on Explicit Reactions and Consequences: Revolution in Pakistani Banks
Abstract
In today’s competitive environment, organizational change is crucial for survival. Despite its necessity, the majority of change initiatives fail. This negatively affects employee morale and commitment. This research investigates key factors that facilitate successful change implementation, focusing specifically on the impact of change climate and participation in the change process. It examines how these variables influence affective commitment to change, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment while implementing a high-paced and high-pressured strategic change, namely revolution. Grounded in Theory E, variance theory, and change management theory, the study develops a conceptual model and adopts a deductive, exploratory design within a positivist framework. The Pakistani banking sector serves as the research context, using multi-stage sampling and a structured questionnaire for data collection. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via SmartPLS is employed for analysis. The findings reveal that a supportive change climate and active participation in the change process significantly enhance affective commitment to change, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment, contributing to the effective implementation of revolution. This research adds to the mainly western-centered literature by offering insights from Pakistan, a developing economy. The study’s exclusive focus on ‘revolution’ as a strategic change highlights its novelty, though suggesting that other types of strategic change warrant further exploration.
References
Ahmad, A. B., & Cheng, Z. (2018). The role of change content, context, process, and leadership in understanding employees’ commitment to change: The case of public organizations in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Public Personnel Management, 47(2), 195–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026017753645
Ahmad, A. B., Straatmann, T., Mueller, K., & Liu, B. (2021). Employees’ change support in the public sector—A multi-time field study examining the formation of intentions and behaviors. Public Administration Review, 81(2), 231–243. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13275
Ahmed, A., Ahmed, U., Ismail, A. I., Rasool, Y., & Soomro, M. A. (2021). Organizational performance in banking sector of Pakistan: Assessing the impacts of strategic orientation and organizational culture. Global Business Review, 22, 968–987. https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509211044307
Al-Nakeeb, A. A. R., & Ghadi, M. Y. (2024). Human resource management practices for effective organizational change: A review of research in Western and non-Western countries. Foundations of Management, 16(1), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.2478/fman-2024-0001
Aminu, I. M., & Shariff, M. N. M. (2014). Mediating role of access to finance on the relationship between strategic orientation and SMEs performance in Nigeria: A proposed research framework. International Journal of Management Research and Review, 4(11), 1023–1035.
Amiot, C. E., Terry, D. J., Jimmieson, N. L., & Callan, V. J. (2006). A longitudinal investigation of coping processes during a merger: Implications for job satisfaction and organizational identification. Journal of Management, 32(4), 552–574. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206306287542
Appelbaum, S. H., Cameron, A., Ensink, F., Hazarika, J., Attir, R., Ezzedine, R., & Shekhar, V. (2017). Factors that impact the success of an organizational change: A case study analysis. Industrial and Commercial Training, 49(5), 213–230. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICT-02-2017-0006
Baakeel, O. A. (2025). Implications of organisational change on academics’ job commitment within higher education. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 23, Article e3136.
Bah, M. O. P., Sun, Z., Hange, U., & Edjoukou, A. J. R. (2024). Effectiveness of organizational change through employee involvement: Evidence from telecommunications and refinery companies. Sustainability, 16(6), Article e2524. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062524
Balogun, J., Hailey, V. H., & Gustafsson, S. (2015). Exploring strategic change. Pearson Education.
Beer, M., & Nohria, N. (2000). Cracking the code of change. Harvard Business Review, 78(3), 133–141.
Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88(3), 588–606. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0033-2909.88.3.588
Bouckenooghe, D., Devos, G., & Van Den Broeck, H. (2009). Organizational change questionnaire–climate of change, processes, and readiness: Development of a new instrument. The Journal of Psychology, 143(6), 559–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980903218216
Breutner, N., & Roth, A. (2024). How employees perceive planned organizational change: Insights from a workspace change project in the German insurance industry. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 60, Article e290892. https://doi.org/10.1177/00218863241290892
Canning, J., & Found, P. A. (2015). The effect of resistance in organizational change programmes. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 7(2–3), 274–295. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijqss-02-2015-0018
Child, J. (1972). Organization structure and strategies of control: A replication of the Aston study. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(2), 163–177. https://www.jstor.org/journal/admisciequar
Claiborne, N., Auerbach, C., Lawrence, C., & Schudrich, W. Z. (2013). Organizational change: The role of climate and job satisfaction in child welfare workers’ perception of readiness for change. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(12), 209–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.09.012
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Conway, E., Freeney, Y., Monks, K., & McDowell, N. (2025). Understanding affective commitment to change in a civil service context: The roles of prosocial job design, organizational identification, and involvement climate. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 45(1), 124–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X231211153
Devos, G., Buelens, M., & Bouckenooghe, D. (2007). Contribution of content, context, and process to understanding openness to organizational change: Two experimental simulation studies. Journal of Social Psychology, 147(6), 607–629. https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.147.6.607–630
Dildar, N., & Nazir, T. (2025). Impact of transformational leadership on affective commitment: Job satisfaction as mediator. Asian Social Sciences and Arts Journal, 4(1), 419–431. https://doi.org/10.55966/assaj.2025.4.1.049
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-3322(00)17011-1
Dung, L. T., & Hai, P. V. (2020). The effects of transformational leadership and job satisfaction on commitment to organisational change: A three-component model extension approach. The South East Asian Journal of Management, 14(1), 106–123.
Faisaluddin, F., Fitriana, E., Nugraha, Y., & Hinduan, Z. R. (2024). Does meaningful work affect affective commitment to change? Work engagement contribution. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 50, Article e2143.
Farahnak, L. R., Ehrhart, M. G., Torres, E. M., & Aarons, G. A. (2019). The influence of transformational leadership and leader attitudes on subordinate attitudes and implementation success. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 26(2), 145–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051818824529
Fedor, D. B., Caldwell, S., & Herold, D. M. (2006). The effects of organizational changes on employee commitment. Personnel Psychology, 59(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2006.00852.x
Fernandez, S., Rainey, H. G., Lowman, C. E., & Riccucci, N. M. (2006). Privatization and its implications for human resources management. In C. Ban & N. Riccucci (Eds.), Public personnel management: current concerns, future challenges (pp. 204–224). Routledge.
Ford, J. K., Weissbein, D. A., & Plamondon, K. (2003). Distinguishing organizational from strategy commitment: Linking officers’ commitment to community policing to job behaviors and satisfaction. Justice Quarterly, 20(1), 159–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418820300095491
Furusten, S. (2023). Institutional theory and organizational change. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Gil, A. J., Mataveli, M., Garcia‐Alcaraz, J. L., & Ibanez‐Somovilla, L. (2024). Organisational climate and change‐orientated behaviour: The mediating effects of employee learning culture and perceptions of performance appraisal. European Management Review, 21(3), 618–630. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12601
Gonzalez-Varona, J. M., López-Paredes, A., Poza, D., & Acebes, F. (2024). Building and development of an organizational competence for digital transformation in SMEs. ArXiv Preprint. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2406.01615
Gun, I., Soyuk, S., & Ozsari, S. H. (2021). Effects of job satisfaction, affective commitment, and organizational support on job performance and turnover intention in healthcare workers. Archives of Health Science and Research, 8(2), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.5152/ArcHealthSciRes.2021.21044
Hair, J. F., Henseler, J., Dijkstra, T. K., & Sarstedt, M. (2014). Common beliefs and reality about partial least squares: Comments on Rönkkö and Evermann. Organizational Research Methods, 17(2), 182–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428114526928
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2018). The results of PLS-SEM: An updated review and practical recommendations. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Hair, J. F., Jr, Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using R: A workbook. Springer.
Hair, J. F. Jr, Matthews, L. M., Matthews, R. L., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). PLS-SEM or CB-SEM: Updated guidelines on which method to use. International Journal of Multivariate Data Analysis, 1(2), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMDA.2017.087624
Hakami, A., Almutairi, H., Alsulyis, R., Al Rrwis, T., & Al Battal, A. (2020). The relationship between nurses’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Health Science Journal, 14(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.36648/1791-809x.14.1.692
Hechanova, M. R. M., Caringal-Go, J. F., & Magsaysay, J. F. (2018). Implicit change leadership, change management, and affective commitment to change: Comparing academic institutions vs business enterprises. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(7), 914–925. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-01-2018-0013
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Herold, D. M., Fedor, D. B., & Caldwell, S. D. (2007). Beyond change management: A multilevel investigation of contextual and personal influences on employees’ commitment to change. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(4), 942–951. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.4.942
Herscovitch, L., & Meyer, J. P. (2002). Commitment to organizational change: Extension of a three-component model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), 474–487. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.3.474
Holzer, J. M., & Orenstein, D. E. (2023). Organizational transformation for greater sustainability impact: Recent changes in a scientific research infrastructure in Europe. Landscape Ecology, 38(12), 4275–4289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-023-01624-y
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: Sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychological Methods, 3(4), 424–453.
Iljins, J., Skvarciany, V., & Gaile-Sarkane, E. (2015). Impact of organizational culture on organizational climate during the process of change. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 213, 944–950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.509
Jacobs, G., Van Witteloostuijn, A., & Christe-Zeyse, J. (2013). A theoretical framework of organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 26(5), 772–792. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-09-2012-0137
Jaros, S. (2010). Commitment to organizational change: A critical review. Journal of Change Management, 10(1), 79–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697010903549457
Jia, X. (2024). The mediating effect of organizational commitment and job satisfaction between organizational change on employee performance in fifteen large supermarkets of Huangpu District in Shanghai City. Uniglobal Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(2), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.53797/ujssh.v3i2.7.2024
Jianchun, Y. (2024). Enhancing employee job satisfaction through organizational climate and employee happiness at work: A mediated–moderated model. BMC Psychology, 12(1), Article e744. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02269-5
Johansen, F., Stoopendaal, A., Loorbach, D., & de Koeijer, R. (2024). Transition pains: Recognizing employee reactions to organizational realignment in a disruptive context. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 60(3), 468–498. https://doi.org/10.1177/00218863241233703
Jones, R. A., Jimmieson, N. L., & Griffiths, A. (2005). The impact of organizational culture and reshaping capabilities on change implementation success: The mediating role of readiness for change. Journal of Management Studies, 42(2), 361–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00500.x
Jyoti, J. (2013). Impact of organizational climate on job satisfaction, job commitment and intention to leave: An empirical model. Journal of Business Theory and Practice, 1(1), 66–82. https://doi.org/10.22158/jbtp.v1n1p66
Kickert, W. J. M. (2010). Managing emergent and complex change: The case of Dutch agencification. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 76(3), 489–515. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852310373172
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (5th ed.). The Guilford Press.
Kuipers, B. S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J., & Van Der Voet, J. (2014). The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public Administration, 92(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12040
Lambert, E. G., Hogan, N. L., & Griffin, M. L. (2007). The impact of distributive and procedural justice on correctional staff job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Journal of Criminal Justice, 35(6), 644–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2007.09.001
Lang-Lehmann, S., Müller, P., Reinhard, M.-A., & Volz, S. (2024). How empowerment can help to reduce change-related uncertainty in young employees. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 60(2), 254–279. https://doi.org/10.1177/00218863221132313
Macdonald, S., & MacIntyre, P. (1997). The generic job satisfaction scale: Scale development and its correlates. Employee Assistance Quarterly, 13(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1300/J022v13n02_01
Mathur, M., Kapoor, T., & Swami, S. (2023). Readiness for organizational change: The effects of individual and organizational factors. Journal of Advances in Management Research, 20(4), 730–757. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-02-2023-0032
Michaelis, B., Stegmaier, R., & Sonntag, K. (2009). Affective commitment to change and innovation implementation behavior: The role of charismatic leadership and employees’ trust in top management. Journal of Change Management, 9(4), 399–417. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-02-2023-0032
Nguyen, P. T., Rafferty, A. E., & Xerri, M. J. (2025). The impact of personal and change event characteristics on employee wellbeing via uncertainty and insecurity. Organizational Psychology Review, 15(1), 181–208. https://doi.org/10.1177/20413866251317433
Oreg, S., Vakola, M., & Armenakis, A. (2011). Change recipients’ reactions to organizational change: A 60-year review of quantitative studies. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 47(4), 461–524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886310396550
Petrauskaitė-Jocienė, V., & Korsakienė, R. (2024). The factors impacting employee commitment to organizational change. Business: Theory and Practice, 25(2), 488–501. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2024.21130
Petrou, P., Demerouti, E., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2018). Crafting the change: The role of employee job crafting behaviors for successful organizational change. Journal of Management, 44(5), 1766–1792. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315624961
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.
Rogiest, S., Segers, J., & van Witteloostuijn, A. (2015). Climate, communication and participation impacting commitment to change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(6), 1094–1106. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-06-2015-0101
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2010). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach (5th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Sorsa, M., & Dechassa, C. (2023). The effects of change management practice on organizational performance and factors affecting the success of change implementation: A systematic article review study. International Journal of Leadership and Public Sector Reform, 1(2), 20–36.
Shafiq, M., & Saeed, B. B. (2022). Change antecedents, explicit reactions and consequences for revolution and evolution: A case study of commercial banks in Pakistan. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 9(5), 119–133.
Teo, S. T. T., Pick, D., Newton, C. J., Yeung, M. E., & Chang, E. (2013). Organisational change stressors and nursing job satisfaction: The mediating effect of coping strategies. Journal of Nursing Management, 21(6), 878–887. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12120
Tran, D. T., Pham, H. T., & Bui, V. T. (2020). The effect of contextual factors on resistance to change in lean transformation. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(11), 479–489. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no11.479
Trzeciak, M. (2024). Factors of success in the change management process of IT programs. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 37(1), 58–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-04-2023-0110
Turnipseed, D. (1988). An integrated, interactive model of organisational climate, culture and effectiveness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 9(1), 17–21. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb053644
Ullrich, A., Reißig, M., Niehoff, S., & Beier, G. (2023). Employee involvement and participation in digital transformation: A combined analysis of literature and practitioners’ expertise. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 36(8), 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-10-2022-0302
Van De Ven, A. H., & Poole, M. S. (2005). Alternative approaches for studying organizational change. Organization Studies, 26(9), 1377–1404. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840605056907
van der Voet, J., Kuipers, B., & Groeneveld, S. (2015). Held back and pushed forward: Leading change in a complex public sector environment. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 290–309. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-09-2013-0182
Van Dijke, M., Guo, Y., Wildschut, T., & Sedikides, C. (2024). Perceived organizational change strengthens organizational commitment and OCB via increased organizational nostalgia. Journal of Applied Psychology, 109(3), Article e123456.
Yousef, D. (2000). Organizational commitment and job satisfaction as predictors of attitudes toward organizational change in a non‐Western setting. Personnel Review, 29(5), 567–592. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480010296401
Yousef, D. A. (2017). Organizational commitment, job satisfaction and attitudes toward organizational change: A study in the local government. International Journal of Public Administration, 40(1), 77–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2015.1072217
Yue, C. A., Men, L. R., & Ferguson, M. A. (2019). Bridging transformational leadership, transparent communication, and employee openness to change: The mediating role of trust. Public Relations Review, 45(3), Article e101779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.04.012
Copyright (c) 2025 Madiha Shafiq, Bilal Bin Saeed
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Thus, work submitted to Journal of Management and Research implies that it is original, unpublished work of the authors; neither published previously nor accepted/under consideration for publication elsewhere.
