Employee Perspectives on Implementation Communication as Predictors of Perceptions of Success and Resistance

This study examines employee experiences in communicating with implementers of planned change and the effects of those experiences on employees' perceptions of success and of resistance to planned changes. Results indicate that the higher the perceived value of their own input and of leaders' communication of vision, the higher their perceptions of success were, whereas higher degrees of involvement of lower level staff and perceived resistance militated against success. Further, the higher the evaluation of quality of implementation information, the less likely the employees were to perceive resistance to the change. Also, the more forced the nature of the implementation, the more likely the employees were to perceive resistance to the change. Mere frequency of communication (both in receiving information and providing input) was unrelated to employees' perceptions of success. Implications for implementers and future research directions are discussed. Keywords: TechnologyImplementationEmployee PerspectivesCommunicationChange ResistanceImplementation InformationInput SeekingLeader Vision The author wishes to thank Craig R. Scott and Karen Cornetto for the design and implementation of the Web survey used in collection of these data. Notes All pairs significant at p > .01 level except for a–b, c–d. ∗p > .05. ∗∗p > .01. ∗∗∗p > .001. ∗p > .05. ∗∗p > .01. 1. In theorizing about types of changes that may actually constitute different implementation processes, the most meaningful distinctions, about which there are at least some theoretical arguments, concern "novelty" or "complexity" of change programs (Poole & Van de Ven, Citation1989) relative to the organizational setting in which they are found.