A comparison of methods for the evaluation of significance: Evidence from organizational change interventions

Abstract

Current statistical methods are complemented by Bayesian statistical methods when evaluating change in applied settings. Bayesian methods are a flexible tool for investigating the effects of change interventions. Bayesian statistics may be used to simultaneously test the statistical and practical significance of change in organizations. A description of the evaluation of a three-year study in six manufacturing plants of a large, United States corporation is provided. The results of traditional statistical methods are compared to Bayesian statistics for this field study. A discussion of (1) the results of this evaluation and (2) the applicability of the Bayesian approach for the evaluation of organizational change is presented.