THE NEXUS OF EMPLOYEE VOICE ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE READINESS: MEDIATING ROLE OF COMMITMENT TO CHANGE

Abstract

In the Sri Lanka context of rapid business changes, organizational readiness for change has become a critical factor for achieving sustainable growth and competitiveness. Despite this, many organizational change efforts fail due to employee resistance, often stemming from a lack of voice in decision-making processes. While previous research has mainly focused on leadership roles and top-down communication during change, limited attention has been paid to the influence of employee voice on organizational change readiness, particularly in the Sri Lankan private sector. Furthermore, the role of psychological mechanisms such as commitment to change as a mediator in this relationship remains underexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to examine how employee voice affects organizational change readiness, with a special focus on the mediating role of commitment to change. A quantitative research design was adopted, and primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed to employees in selected private sector organizations in Sri Lanka. Data were initially collected from 150 employees, and after data screening, 125 valid responses were retained for analysis using a convenience sampling method. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software, applying descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and mediation testing. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between employee voice and organizational change readiness. Additionally, employee voice was strongly correlated with commitment to change, and commitment to change also showed a significant relationship with organizational change readiness. Mediation analysis confirmed that commitment to change partially mediates the relationship between employee voice and organizational change readiness. The study contributes to both academic literature and organizational practice by highlighting the importance of encouraging employee voice to foster greater commitment to change, thereby improving overall change readiness.