| Summary: | The dimensional structure of adaptation to organizational change was identified. The
dimensions were related to personality, work attitude, and job stress variables. The research
extends previous research on adaptation to change at work (e.g. Chan, 2000; Pulakos et al., 2000)
by examining adaptation in the context of large-scale organizational change and by empirically
deriving its dimensional structure.
Characteristics of adaptation to organizational change were identified by obtaining
critical incidents of adaptation from 47 managers from four organizations following a merger
and restructuring. A questionnaire was developed from these characteristics to measure
adaptation to organizational change. Data on the questionnaire from 553 managers yielded five
dimensions, which were interpreted and labelled: Supporting Change, Resisting Change, Career
Development, Initiating Effort, and Building Social Capital. Openness, emotional stability,
agreeableness, and positive self-concept were positively related to four of the five adaptation
dimensions. Linear combinations of the personality traits predicted the adaptation dimensions
moderately well (Rs ranged .29 to .42). Work attitude variables were associated with Resisting
Change. Job stress was positively related to Resisting Change and Initiating Effort. Two
second-order factors were obtained, distinguishing between problem-focused and emotion-focused
adaptation dimensions. A taxonomy of adaptation strategies was identified to reveal
how individuals differ in their relative use of the five adaptation dimensions. These strategies
were interpreted and labelled: strategy 1, strategy 2, highly responsive, moderately responsive,
and unresponsive.
Adaptation to organizational change is a multidimensional construct representing
meaningful differences in how employees adapt. The five dimensions appear to differ on the
basis of whether they reflect problem-focused or emotion-focused efforts to adapt. The implications for management practice include both personnel selection and training. Personnel
selection on the basis of personality traits would increase adaptability among employees.
Measurement of adaptation to organizational change among employees would then identify
developmental needs, and training could be designed to meet those needs. === Arts, Faculty of === Psychology, Department of === Graduate
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