The current study fills a gap in the communication and management literature by providing additional insight regarding the effective communication strategies used by church leaders during organizational change. The researcher sought to find out how beliefs held by church members predicted their receptivity to change and their intent to leave their organization. Participants from diverse church denominations (N = 208) completed an online survey questionnaire asking them to think about a particular change they had experienced in their current or former church. The results of statistical analysis showed: (a) Church members´ beliefs regarding discrepancy, efficacy, principal support, and valence, positively predicted their receptivity to change, and negatively predicted their intention to leave the organization; (b) beliefs regarding valence were the most relevant for church members to become receptive towards change, and for them to stay in their church during organizational change; (c) among the trust dimensions, benevolence acted as a mediator in the relationship of principal support and valence with intent to leave. This study provides some evidence regarding organizational change in a volunteerbased church context. Practical applications are discussed for church leaders who are implementing change in their congregation. Additionally, future directions are proposed.
","abstract_html":"<p>The current study fills a gap in the communication and management literature by providing additional insight regarding the effective communication strategies used by church leaders during organizational change. The researcher sought to find out how beliefs held by church members predicted their receptivity to change and their intent to leave their organization. Participants from diverse church denominations (N = 208) completed an online survey questionnaire asking them to think about a particular change they had experienced in their current or former church. The results of statistical analysis showed: (a) Church members´ beliefs regarding discrepancy, efficacy, principal support, and valence, positively predicted their receptivity to change, and negatively predicted their intention to leave the organization; (b) beliefs regarding valence were the most relevant for church members to become receptive towards change, and for them to stay in their church during organizational change; (c) among the trust dimensions, benevolence acted as a mediator in the relationship of principal support and valence with intent to leave. This study provides some evidence regarding organizational change in a volunteerbased church context. Practical applications are discussed for church leaders who are implementing change in their congregation. Additionally, future directions are proposed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fuentes Riffo, Daniela Viviana"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kumi Ishii, Ph.D. (Director); Holly Payne, Ph.D.; Carl Kell, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:52Z","subjects":["Organizational Change","Church","Communication","Leadership","Organizational Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1504","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kumi Ishii, Ph.D. (Director); Holly Payne, Ph.D.; Carl Kell, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fuentes Riffo, Daniela Viviana"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Organizational Change","Church","Communication","Leadership","Organizational Communication"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1504"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The current study fills a gap in the communication and management literature by providing additional insight regarding the effective communication strategies used by church leaders during organizational change. The researcher sought to find out how beliefs held by church members predicted their receptivity to change and their intent to leave their organization. Participants from diverse church denominations (N = 208) completed an online survey questionnaire asking them to think about a particular change they had experienced in their current or former church. The results of statistical analysis showed: (a) Church members´ beliefs regarding discrepancy, efficacy, principal support, and valence, positively predicted their receptivity to change, and negatively predicted their intention to leave the organization; (b) beliefs regarding valence were the most relevant for church members to become receptive towards change, and for them to stay in their church during organizational change; (c) among the trust dimensions, benevolence acted as a mediator in the relationship of principal support and valence with intent to leave. This study provides some evidence regarding organizational change in a volunteerbased church context. Practical applications are discussed for church leaders who are implementing change in their congregation. Additionally, future directions are proposed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Organizational Change in Volunteer-Based Organizations: Communication Change Strategies in Church Congregations"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kumi Ishii, Ph.D. (Director); Holly Payne, Ph.D.; Carl Kell, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Fuentes Riffo, Daniela Viviana"],"dc:description.abstract":["The current study fills a gap in the communication and management literature by providing additional insight regarding the effective communication strategies used by church leaders during organizational change. The researcher sought to find out how beliefs held by church members predicted their receptivity to change and their intent to leave their organization. Participants from diverse church denominations (N = 208) completed an online survey questionnaire asking them to think about a particular change they had experienced in their current or former church. The results of statistical analysis showed: (a) Church members´ beliefs regarding discrepancy, efficacy, principal support, and valence, positively predicted their receptivity to change, and negatively predicted their intention to leave the organization; (b) beliefs regarding valence were the most relevant for church members to become receptive towards change, and for them to stay in their church during organizational change; (c) among the trust dimensions, benevolence acted as a mediator in the relationship of principal support and valence with intent to leave. This study provides some evidence regarding organizational change in a volunteerbased church context. Practical applications are discussed for church leaders who are implementing change in their congregation. Additionally, future directions are proposed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1504"],"dc:subject":["Organizational Change","Church","Communication","Leadership","Organizational Communication"],"dc:title":["Organizational Change in Volunteer-Based Organizations: Communication Change Strategies in Church Congregations"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Communication"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:52Z"}