Understanding Employee Openness to Organisational Change in a Healthcare Organisation: Stress, Turnover Intentions and the Moderating Role of Psychological Ownership

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship of employee openness to organisational change with job stress and turnover intentions and tested the moderating effect of psychological ownership in a healthcare context. Participants were employees from a large, non-profit, Midwestern US healthcare organisation that was in the process of a large-scale change initiative (i.e., merger). Our findings indicated that there is a negative relationship between employee openness to organisational change and job stress and turnover intentions. Results also revealed that employees with a higher level of psychological ownership and openness to change tended to experience less job stress. Psychological ownership has not been examined as a moderator in organisational change contexts despite its obvious relevance. Our findings indicate that employee openness to organisational change and psychological ownership are two individual-level attitudes critical to improving crucial individual and organisational outcomes in the change process.