INTRODUCTION Organisations undertake various change initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, business process reengineering, software implementation and total quality management (Hughes, 2007). In all such initiatives, employees are responsible for planning, executing and managing change. Their participation and involvement is high if they own and internalise the change (Higgs & Rowland, 2010) and are comfortable with it (Cady & Neubert, 2001). This occurs when they are committed to change i.e. they are willing to invest the required effort to make the change effective (Herscovitch & Meyer, 2002). Change is likely to be more sustainable if employees’ willingness comes from an intrinsic desire to adopt new processes or technology, implying the need for an affective commitment to change. The present paper examines one of the signifcant ways in which an organisation can bring about affective commitment to change of employees. According to Somerville and Whelan-Berry (2010), the primary organisational factors that support change are leadership and human resource (HR) practices. The role of transformational leadership in infuencing employees to bring about change has been well researched and documented (Choi, 2011; Parry & Proctor-Thomson, 2003). One of the critical factors instrumental to this infuence is HR practices. Transformational leadership encourages introduction of human capital enhancing HR practices that can enable change (Baer, Hu, Jiang, & Lepak, 2012; Zhu, Chew, & Spangler, 2005). Surprisingly, there is no evidence in literature that examines how HR practices in the realm of transformational leadership can promote affective commitment to change. This paper investigates this relationship. The paper also explores the mediating role played by perceived organisational support in this relationship. Perceived organisational support is the employees’ belief that their organisation accords signifcance to their contribution, shows concern about their welfare and satisfes their social and emotional needs (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986). Ideals espoused by transformational leaders can lead to HR practices that emotionally bind employees to their organisation and create positive opinion about the intentions and implications of change, thus leading to an intrinsic desire for change. TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP, HR PRACTICES AND AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT TO CHANGE: A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE Smita Chaudhry*, Chetan Joshi** * Associate Professor, Organisational Behavior and Human Resources, FLAME University, Pune, Maharashtra, India. Email: smita.chaudhry@fame.edu.in ** Associate Professor, Organisational Behaviour, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Email: chetan@iimcal.ac.in Article can be accessed online at http://www.publishingindia.com Abstract It is common knowledge that leadership guides human resource practices which infuence employees’ behaviour and outcomes. Understanding this relationship becomes germane to comprehend the dynamics of organisational change. Human resource practices are crucial for a sustainable change since employees operationalise and institutionalise it. However, limited research has discussed the combination of leadership, human resource practices, and employee behaviour in the context of change. Considering the extensive change management literature on the importance of transformational leadership, we explore the role of the related human resource practices in bringing about affective commitment to change in employees. Additionally, we investigate the intervening role of perceived organisational support. Taking a theoretical perspective, we present the dimensions of the three constructs and the relationship between them. Through the conceptual model, we attempt to understand the practical mechanisms through which transformational leadership can enable organisational change. Research implications and future directions are discussed. Keywords: Transformation Leadership, HR Practices, Affective Commitment to Change, Perceived Organisational Support, Organisational Change