From Change Fatigue to Commitment Across Multiple Change Initiatives: A Contextual Perspective

Organizational actors often evaluate change contexts and enact behaviours accordingly, yet the processes underlying employees' construction of contextual assessments remain underexplored. This paper examines how employees appraise both omnibus contexts, including multiple change initiatives and occupational settings, and discrete contexts, assessed through change-related demands and resources, and how these appraisals shape their commitment. Drawing on a qualitative case study of a French consulting firm, we develop a process model of contextual appraisal and internalisation that explains how employees selectively commit to specific initiatives. Findings reveal that multi-layered contexts generated varied demands, while organizational and managerial resources helped employees navigate change. These appraisals triggered both change fatigue and motivational responses. Faced with multiple changes, employees did not commit to all initiatives; instead, through internalisation, they prioritized initiatives that aligned with their values, sense of belonging, and perceived control. This article advances the change context literature by explaining how employees assess layered change contexts and move from change fatigue toward different forms of commitment across concurrent initiatives.MAD statementThis article aims to make a difference (MAD) by developing a process model that explains how employees appraise complex change contexts and translate these evaluations into distinct forms of commitment. In doing so, it integrates Johns' definition of omnibus and discrete contexts with job demands-resources theory to depict change-related demands and resources that influence employees' responses and engagement. The findings also provide insights into how coping behaviours and internalisation processes enable employees to move from change fatigue to change commitment.