Back to the basics: Challenging resistance to change theory among members of the United States space community

This study builds on the Dent and Goldberg (1999a; 1999b) theory that people do not resist change; rather, people resist loss of tangible factors, which occurs because of change. By following the operationalized justice-culture model of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), the researcher measured levels of resistance against organizational change based on heterogeneous American ethnic and gender interpretations of justice (Ethnicity/gender → perceptions of justice → lower levels of OCB: resistance). The study used the OCB variable to measure levels of altruistic extra role behaviors, and presents resistance against loss of justice (injustice) as one factor within workplace resistance. The researcher argues that resistance against organizational injustice supports Dent and Goldberg's (1999a) theory that social and organizational resistance to change is inaccurately conceptualized. The study followed key variables within three workplace constructs: change, culture, and justice, to explore the many dimensions of organizational resistance. Within change, employee resistance during organizational change is clarified. Within the culture construct, the dimensions of American minority (ethnicity and gender) were conceptualized, and explored to challenge theories of workplace resistance. Lastly, by exploring the complexity of organizational injustice, interpretations of non-instrumental procedural justice was viewed separately from distributive and interactional (anticipatory) justice, to copiously explore the phenomenon of resistance. By addressing organizational injustice as one factor in the organizational resistance against factorial loss theory, the study opens the door for additional research into potential psychosocial factors that account for increased resistance during the organizational change process and presents resistance as a construct.