How and When job Security Reduces Resistance to Change in the Context of Organizational Change
Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this study highlights why and when job security may decrease resistance to change during the organizational change process. Data were collected from 23 subsidiaries in a large manufacturing group enterprise based in a coastal city in eastern China. A three-wave design was used to mirror the different stages in the change process, valid data were received from 469 employees and 86 supervisors. Results showed that job security was negatively related to resistance to change, and this effect was mediated through affective commitment to change. We also found that procedural justice plays a moderating role in the relationship between job security and affective commitment to change and that environmental uncertainty also moderates the relationship between affective commitment to change and resistance to change. This study is quite timely and would have the potential to benefit the practice of change management in organizations.