The relationship between the trust, hope, and normative and continuance commitment of merger survivors
Abstract
Purpose
To determine the nature of the relationship between merger survivors' trust, hope, and normative and continuance commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Correlation and multiple regression studies.
Findings
The results indicate a statistically significant relationship between merger survivors' trust, hope, and normative commitment. The results of a correlation study indicate no significant relationship between merger survivors' trust, hope, and continuance commitment.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation evolved from the scales used to measure the relationship between the study's constructs. The scales were not isolated to measure particular aspects of merger survivors' trust, hope, nor normative and continuance organizational commitment. Also, debate exists regarding the proper time to evaluate mergers survivors' perceptions regarding the merger.
Practical implications
Trust in management can reduce perceptions of threat and harm, and facilitate constructive, goal‐determined, survivor responses. Hope can enhance merger survivors' sense that they could cope with the merger. In turn, high levels of hope produced more active responses to the merger. Active and constructive survivor responses can produce positive commitment toward the organization. Conversely, a lack of trust in management can increase perceptions of threat and harm in merger survivors. The lack of trust in certain merger survivors can facilitate destructive responses, where the merger survivors' focus is on goals outside the organization.
Originality/value
No systematic attempts to understand the relationship among the constructs has been identified.
Keywords
Citation
Ozag, D. (2006), "The relationship between the trust, hope, and normative and continuance commitment of merger survivors", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 25 No. 9, pp. 870-883. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710610692070
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited