The effect of multiple climates on readiness for change within the Norwegian Police Service

Abstract

Individual readiness for change is considered important for organisations to reach their intended goals. However, less is known about the climate-based antecedents affecting individual readiness for change. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between multiple organisational climates and individual readiness for change, using bandwidth-fidelity theory as a framework. More specifically, this study examines the relationship among a molar human relations climate, facet-specific learning climate and individual readiness for change. The human relations climate in this study was defined by Quinn and Rohrbaugh's Competing Values Framework, while learning climate was grounded in the learning organisation paradigm and measured by a modified General Training Climate Scale. A self-report survey was distributed and collected from employees in the Norwegian Police Service (N = 622). The data were analysed using a two-step analytical approach to structural equation modelling. The fit of the measurement models was first evaluated and then the relationships between the constructs were assessed. In both steps, the fit was non-satisfactory and modifications to the measurement and the structural model had to be made. The results revealed that a fully mediated model was preferable and suggests that the relationship between a molar human relations climate is mediated by a facet-specific learning climate. The findings contribute to a more holistic understanding of the effect of climate-based factors on individual readiness for change. Furthermore, the findings contribute to practical implications as it becomes evident that organisations can build organisational capacity for change by implementing a molar human relations climate as a foundation for facet-specific learning climate.