Conventional wisdom and the literature on organizational change management suggest that nostalgia, the sentimental longing for the past, is a maladaptive strategy to facilitate change. However, drawing on recent advances, we develop a theoretical framework to describe how the nuanced emotion of nostalgia countervails the negative effects of psychological perturbations and environmental conditions associated with change events. Our framework highlights the importance of nostalgia and its psychological benefits, namely, self-continuity, social connectedness, positive affect, and meaningfulness. Based on this framework, we provide insights into how management can strategically leverage nostalgia to increase change success, as we focus on the context of acquisitions—a significant change event for organizations and their employees.
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