Lau and Woodman (1995) indicated that each individual determines through his/her
perceptual filters whether change is a threat or a benefit. Each individual’s unique
“schema” of what change is or of what change represents adds to the formulation of
attitudes and reactions to change. This argument supports the approach of the
existence of individual differences both in the perception of the change event (stressor)
and in the causal relationship between perceived change event (stressor) and stress
level. There are a number of moderators that have an impact on the perception of
change event and on the cause of stress (Mack et al., 1998). Apart from personality
dimensions such as locus of control or A/B type of personality, organizational
commitment has been identified as a moderator (Mack et al., 1998; Sullivan and Bhagat,
1992). These moderators affect the individual’s ability to cope with the change event,
the individual’s ability to cope with sources and outcomes of stress and the individual’s
perception of the change event. Therefore, we hypothesize that organizational
commitment moderates the relationship between occupational stress and attitudes
towards change.