Exploring Managers’ Feelings about Employee Involvement in Change

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of organization change and employee involvement by closing a gap in the current literature. Specifically, we believe that scholars have failed to adequately study how managers view employee involvement. This lacuna is noteworthy given an apparent consensus about the value of employee involvement to successfully introduce change. The study revealed overlap between how academics approached the matter and how managers do. However, study of the managers’ thoughts uncovered some interesting nuances about how they manage the process. These nuances point to directions for research that could sharpen our understanding about the change process. The results can be an important step for integrating existing knowledge about employee involvement in change and managers’ needs to make it happen.