To effectively manage planned change and understand differences in leaders’ and recipients’ responses to it, it is essential to understand how change is cognitively represented by organization members. In this theory-development article, we draw upon construal-level theory (CLT) and conceptually explore the role of change construal level in explaining responses to organizational change. We discuss differences between change leaders’ and recipients’ change construals, and differences in the relationships between change construal level and the response to change as a function of the change activities taking place. Specifically, we argue that high-level (i.e., abstract) construals of change will facilitate the effective initiation of change when the focus is on equilibrium-breaking activities, and that low-level (i.e., concrete) construals will facilitate the effective implementation of change when the focus is on institutionalization of the change. We further propose that leaders’ engagement in visionary leadership increases the likelihood that their generally higher level construal of change will be integrated into recipients’ change construals, elaborating and elevating them, and that recipients’ engagement in upward prohibitive voice behaviors will increase the likelihood that their generally lower construal of change will be integrated into leaders’ change construals, elaborating and concretizing them. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of our framework.

为了有效地管理计划中的变革并了解领导者和接受者对其反应的差异，了解组织成员如何认知变革是至关重要的。在这篇理论发展文章中，我们利用解释层次理论 (CLT) 并从概念上探讨变革解释层次在解释对组织变革的反应中的作用。我们讨论了变革领导者和接受者变革解释之间的差异，以及变革解释水平和对变革的响应之间的关系差异，这些差异是变革活动发生的函数。具体来说，我们认为，当重点是打破平衡的活动时，高层次（即抽象）的变革解释将促进变革的有效启动，而低层次（即，具体）当重点是变革的制度化时，解释将促进变革的有效实施。我们进一步提出，领导者参与有远见的领导会增加他们普遍更高层次的变革解释将被整合到接受者的变革解释中的可能性，详细说明和提升它们，并且接受者参与向上禁止的声音行为将增加可能性他们通常较低的变革解释将被整合到领导者的变革解释中，对其进行详细阐述和具体化。我们讨论了我们框架的理论和实践意义。我们进一步提出，领导者参与有远见的领导会增加他们普遍更高层次的变革解释将被整合到接受者的变革解释中的可能性，详细说明和提升它们，并且接受者参与向上禁止的声音行为将增加可能性他们通常较低的变革解释将被整合到领导者的变革解释中，对其进行详细阐述和具体化。我们讨论了我们框架的理论和实践意义。我们进一步提出，领导者参与有远见的领导会增加他们普遍更高层次的变革解释将被整合到接受者的变革解释中的可能性，详细说明和提升它们，并且接受者参与向上禁止的声音行为将增加可能性他们通常较低的变革解释将被整合到领导者的变革解释中，对其进行详细阐述和具体化。我们讨论了我们框架的理论和实践意义。并且接受者参与向上禁止的声音行为将增加他们通常较低的变革解释被整合到领导者的变革解释中的可能性，详细说明和具体化它们。我们讨论了我们框架的理论和实践意义。并且接受者参与向上禁止的声音行为将增加他们通常较低的变革解释被整合到领导者的变革解释中的可能性，详细说明和具体化它们。我们讨论了我们框架的理论和实践意义。