Employee coping with organizational change: An examination of alternative theoretical perspectives and models

This longitudinal study seeks to determine the appropriate theoretical structure for how employees cope with organizational change. A model based on the appraisal theory of emotion is compared to competing theoretical structures of coping found in the literature: stimulus-response, partial mediation, and moderated. Structural equation model results showed that coping with organizational change is a completely mediated process best represented by the stimulus-response theoretical structure, whereby negative appraisal is associated with reduced control and increased escape coping, which are positively related to positive and negative emotions, respectively. Negative emotions predicted sick time used and intentions to quit, which then predicted voluntary turnover. Implications for coping theory and organizational change management are discussed.