The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had tremendous and swift effects on organizational change. This study examined how organizations can leverage leadership and employee resources to facilitate positive change outcomes. Drawing from the self-concept based motivational theory of charismatic leadership and substitutes for leadership theory, the current study proposed a theoretical model connecting top leaders’ charismatic rhetoric, employees’ affective commitment to change, and employees’ turnover intention. Furthermore, the study investigated contingencies that may modify the relationship between leadership communication and followers’ outcomes. Results from an online panel of 417 U.S. employees showed that top leaders’ use of charismatic rhetoric during change led to followers’ affective commitment to change, which decreased their turnover intention. Furthermore, employees’ organizational identification moderated this relationship. When employees have low identification with their organizations, top leaders’ charismatic rhetoric to address the immediate change is more needed.

新型冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 大流行对组织变革产生了巨大而迅速的影响。本研究探讨了组织如何利用领导力和员工资源来促进积极的变革成果。本研究借鉴基于自我概念的魅力领导激励理论和替代领导理论，提出了一个将高层领导的魅力修辞、员工对变革的情感承诺和员工离职倾向联系起来的理论模型。此外，该研究调查了可能改变领导沟通与追随者结果之间关系的突发事件。一个由 417 名美国员工组成的在线小组的结果表明，高层领导在变革期间使用魅力修辞会导致追随者对变革的情感承诺，这降低了他们的离职意愿。此外，员工的组织认同调节了这种关系。当员工对其组织的认同度较低时，更需要高层领导的魅力修辞来应对眼前的变化。