Using the thoery of planned behaviour to explain why informed, participative employees tend to engage in change supportive behavior

Aim - To assess whether variables from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) can explain why two known predictors of organisational-change success (Information and Participation) enhance change-supportive behaviour during major organisational change. Design - A longitudinal design was used, whereby participants completed questionnaires measuring Information, Participation, Job Demands, TPB variables, Behavioural Intentions, and change-supportive behaviour before and after a large-scale change event (relocation). Method - Participants included 242 employees from a single organisation (26% response rate) who responded to an email inviting them to participate. Of these 242 employees, 106 responded two months later at time 2. Results - It was found that TPB variables mediated the effects of Information and Participation on change-supportive behaviour (both intention and actual behaviour) in employees. Interestingly, follow up analyses revealed that the indirect relationships from Information and Participation to change-supportive behaviour became much stronger when taking into account employee Job Demands (i.e. conditional indirect effects). Conclusion - It seems that TPB variables collectively mediate the relationship between Information, Participation and change-supportive behaviour, and that this mediation is strongest when participants report low levels of Job Demand.