Organizational culture and affective commitment to e-learning’ changes during COVID-19 pandemic: the underlying effects of readiness for change

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have been embracing digital transformation for years, but the disruptive influence of the global COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated it. Despite the importance of organizational culture (OC) for the successful delivery of e-learning, empirical studies looking at its impact on academics’ readiness and affective commitment to e-learning-induced changes are scant. This study unveils the underlying impacts of multiple employee readiness for change (ERFC) dimensions in the OC-employee affective commitment to change (EACC) relationship. Survey data were obtained from 1,200 Jordanian public HEIs’ academics. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the data, testing the study’s six hypotheses. The findings offer a novel contribution by showing that OC types influence different dimensions of ERFC, each having a distinctive impact on EACC. It further shows that two ERFC dimensions, namely self-efficacy and personal valence, function as full mediators in the relationships between group culture/adhocracy culture and EACC.