Resumen

Drawing from self-affirmation theory, this study proposed an approach in which employees‘ perceived threat to their self-concept is central to understanding their responses towards a reorganization. An individual‘s self-concept may be threatened by reorganizational changes depending on the scope of the reorganization in several ways, such as increased uncertainty, decrease job security, or identity confusion. The researcher argued that the greater the perceived threat to an individual‘s self-concept from the reorganization, the greater an individual‘s negative attitude towards the reorganization. Another important argument of the study was that the greater the extent to which change relevant actions and Human Resource (HR) programs provided by the department affirm an individual‘s self-concept, the lower an individual‘s negative attitude towards the re-organization. Given these assumptions, this study aimed to identify reasons for an individual‘s negative attitudes towards the reorganization and how change relevant actions and HR programs provided by the department affect individuals‘ attitudes towards the reorganization.

Overall, findings of the study supported the main tenets of the self-affirmation theory. In order to test all hypotheses in this study, the researcher conducted bivariate correlation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression (OLS) analyses. As a result of multiple regression models, a relationship was found between reorganizational factors, demographic factors and negative attitudes towards the reorganization. Implications of the findings both for self-affirmation theory and practicing managers are discussed.