Framing change dialogically: exploring the impact of change framing on employee buy-In

Abstract

This study, a qualitative single case study, explores how leadership dialogic framing fosters employee buy-in during a digital transformational change in a culturally diverse, high-power distance, geographically dispersed multinational organisation. Drawing from 25 semi-structured interviews from across hierarchical levels, the research addresses one main question and three sub-questions: (1) how leadership framing shapes employees’ cognitive, emotional, and behavioural responses to change; (2) which dialogic mechanisms most effectively foster shared understanding and engagement; and (3) how contextual factors, cultural diversity, organisational hierarchy, regional inequality, and psychological safety, moderate the effectiveness of dialogic communication. The findings reveal that dialogic framing outweighs traditional top-down approaches in producing cognitive understanding, emotional trust, and behavioural ownership. However, their effectiveness lies in institutional, relational, and interpretive contextual conditions. Findings also reveal that geographic dispersion, cultural norms, hierarchical gatekeeping, and linguistic exclusion twist the dialogic intent. However, performative dialogue is revealed as harmful, as it causes eroded trust, deeper psychological safety destruction, and resistance than honest top-down communication. The study contributes an empirically grounded multilevel moderator model/framework of how leadership framing interacts with dialogic mechanisms and contextual moderators to influence employee buy-in. It also extends dialogic organisation development (OD) theory to the African context and highlights performative dialogue as a critical risk factor in change management. Recommendations stress the need for sustained leadership visibility, context-sensitive mechanisms, feedback loops, and empowered middle managers. Outlined in the conclusion are directions for future quantitative, longitudinal, and interactive-based research.