The Importance of Commitment to Change in Public Reform: An Example from Pakistan

Abstract

The public sectors in many developing countries have undergone major restructuring over the past decades. Earlier research suggests that such restructuring is inherently linked to feelings of ambiguity and insecurity among employees, undermining behavioral support for change, and thus, chances of change success. Using survey data from a restructured public sector organization in Pakistan, this study investigated the mediating role of commitment to change on the relationship between role ambiguity/job insecurity and behavioral support for change. The results show that role ambiguity and job insecurity were negatively related to both commitment to change and behavioral support for change. More importantly, however, the results support the notion that the negative effects of role ambiguity and job insecurity on behavioral support for change are fully mediated by individuals' commitment to change. The study emphasizes the importance of mobilizing commitment to change in restructuring processes.

Keywords:

• Public reform
• support for change
• commitment to change