The nature of managerial commitment to strategic change

This article explores the nature of managerial commitment to such strategic changes as downsizing and quality improvement. Its purpose is to develop a theoretical framework of managerial commitment. Findings from a qualitative study are presented resulting in the classification of commitment in two dimensions: reward‐based and trust‐based commitments. A theoretical typology of the four types of managerial commitment is developed based on the dimensions: passive, calculative, trustful, and balanced types of commitment. The article argues that the general assumptions in commitment literature that people need material, social or psychological incentives and rewards which facilitate identification with an organization are one‐sided. It proposes that much more emphasis should be put on studying trust‐based commitment and elements affecting it for both economic and ethical reasons than prior research has done.