The Effect of Transformational Leadership on Employees During Organizational Change – An Empirical Analysis

The ripple effect of strain in times of change: how manager emotional exhaustion affects team psychological safety and readiness to change

Introduction

Managers assume a pivotal role during periods of organizational change, yet there exists a notable gap in our understanding of how their emotional exhaustion may impact their capacity to generate readiness to change within their teams. Grounded in the conservation of resources theory (COR), this study explores the crossover effect of managers' emotional exhaustion on team readiness to change. We expect this to occur through higher levels of laissez-faire leadership, which impacts the teams' psychological safety.

Methodology

Data was gathered within a Canadian governmental organization undergoing two significant changes-cultural change and digitalization-with a specific focus on leadership as a pivotal factor in preparing teams for change. Employing surveys from 372 team members and 62 managers affected by this change, we conducted path analysis to empirically test the proposed model across 74 teams and their respective managers.

Results

Managers' emotional exhaustion has a negative indirect effect on team readiness to change. The double mediation pathway implies a positive relationship on laissez-faire leadership, which hinders psychological safety. In turn, psychological safety hampers team readiness to change.

Conclusion

Managers must invest significant resources to fulfill their roles and responsibilities during strategic change. Those who feel exhausted during change may look for ways to protect some of their resources by reducing the time and energy they invest leading their team. This self-preserving resource strategy has detrimental consequences on teams' effectiveness during change due to an indirect crossover effect that affects the levels of psychological safety on the team.

Mapping inspiration in human resources: A systematic review of themes and approaches

Background: This study was motivated by the need to invigorate research on inspiration, especially within the domain of management. The authors' objective was to devise a unifying structure for theory building and provide an overview of emergent constructs on inspiration research. Thus, the incremental contribution of the study is that the authors reviewed extant relevant literature and enhanced the focus on research on inspiration in management. Methods:  We performed a literature search on empirical studies on inspiration from 15 June to 31 August 2022. We retrieved English articles published between 2003 and 2022. The information sources were Ebscohost, ProQuest, Science Direct, and Scopus.  Risk of bias was assessed regarding review methods and the relevance of review to the research questions. We developed a data extraction sheet for the data collection process, considering the systematic review goals to ensure that all the pertinent data was retrieved. Results: Six out of 224 articles were identified for the final review. The excluded articles did not meet the either one or all of the inclusion criteria. The results revealed that there is a vast knowledge gap awaiting empirical research which can have a far-reaching impact on society and management; for instance, the impact of inspiration on performance and the role of moderators such as spirituality, visioning capability, gender variation, and linguistic proficiency. Conclusion:  This study recommends that research on inspiration focuses to crystallize inspiration as a construct, identify various dimensions of inspiration, and then firm up a general theory of inspiration with robust empirical evidence. There is a need to expand the scope of the IS by developing and trying out newer competing scales.

Predicting and responding to change: Perceived environmental uncertainty among substance use disorder treatment programs

INTRODUCTION

Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs offering addiction health services (AHS) must be prepared to adapt to change in their operating environment. These environmental uncertainties may have implications for service delivery, and ultimately patient outcomes. To adapt to a multitude of environmental uncertainties, treatment programs must be prepared to predict and respond to change. Yet, research on treatment programs preparedness for change is sparse. We examined reported difficulties in predicting and responding to changes in the AHS system, and factors associated with these outcomes.

METHODS

Cross-sectional surveys of SUD treatment programs in the United States in 2014 and 2017. We used linear and ordered logistic regression to examine associations between key independent variables (e.g., program, staff, and client characteristics) and four outcomes, (1) reported difficulties in predicting change, (2) predicting effect of change on organization, (3) responding to change, and (4) predicting changes to make to respond to environmental uncertainties. Data were collected through telephone surveys.

RESULTS

The proportion of SUD treatment programs reporting difficulty predicting and responding to changes in the AHS system decreased from 2014 to 2017. However, a considerable proportion still reported difficulty in 2017. We identified that different organizational characteristics are associated with their reported ability to predict or respond to environmental uncertainty. Findings show that predicting change is significantly associated with program characteristics only, while predicting effect of change on organizations is associated with program and staff characteristics. Deciding how to respond to change is associated with program, staff, and client characteristics, while predicting changes to make to respond is associated with staff characteristics only.

CONCLUSIONS

Although treatment programs reported decreased difficulty predicting and responding to changes, our findings identify program characteristics and attributes that could better position programs with the foresight to more effectively predict and respond to uncertainties. Given resource constraints at multiple levels in treatment programs, this knowledge might help identify and optimize aspects of programs to intervene upon to enhance their adaptability to change. These efforts may positively influences processes or care delivery, and ultimately translate into improvements in patient outcomes.

Millennials and the motivation to lead: is a transformational leader a catalyst or barrier?

Purpose

Leaders influence individuals to understand and agree upon goals and methods to accomplish shared objectives. However, how leaders motivate others to assume a leadership role is an open question. This paper aims to examine how employee perceptions of their supervisors’ transformational leadership behaviors might affect a millennial and their motivation toward leadership. This paper also investigated the relationship within a spiritually based organizational context since workplace spirituality has become increasingly popular within contemporary corporate cultures.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper offers propositions, which examine two areas: first, the impact of a spiritual work context on a millennial’s motivation to lead and, second, the proposed moderating impact of a transformational leader on these relationships.

Findings

These linkages are important for organizational leaders to examine, as millennials will be the largest portion of the workforce by 2025. In addition, the influence of a transformational leader may not be as powerful as previous research has demonstrated. This difference is based on aspects of millennials, which are different from previous generations. Organizations spend thousands of dollars on the development of transformational leaders and spiritual (meaningful) workplaces; however, this may not be useful in the future.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, to date no research has examined the impact of a transformational leader on a millennial’s motivation toward leadership in a spiritual work context.

Reactions towards organizational change: a systematic literature review

Regardless of the prevalence and value of change initiatives in contemporary organizations, these often face resistance by employees. This resistance is the outcome of change recipients' cognitive and behavioral reactions towards change. To better understand the causes and effects of reactions to change, a holistic view of prior research is needed. Accordingly, we provide a systematic literature review on this topic. We categorize extant research into four major and several subcategories: micro and macro reactions. We analyze the essential characteristics of the emerging field of change reactions along research issues and challenges, benefits of (even negative) reactions, managerial implications, and propose future research opportunities.

Effect of supervisors’ stress on subordinates’ unethical behavior: moderating role of managers’ despotic leadership

Purpose

By applying displaced aggression and conservation of resource theory, this paper aims to investigate the effect of supervisors’ workplace stress over subordinates' unethical behavior through displaced aggression as an underlying mechanism. Moreover, it tests the moderating effect of despotic leadership between supervisors’ workplace stress and displaced aggression.

Design/methodology/approach

The data consists of three hierarchy levels: despotic leadership (top manager), supervisor’s (immediate supervisor/middle manager) workplace stress and displaced aggression and subordinates’ unethical behavior. The data was collected from 80 managers about their workplace stress and displaced aggression besides perceived unethical behavior of their 240 subordinates.

Findings

The data analysis of 80 bank managers of Pakistan about their perception of top managers’ despotic behavior and unethical behavior of their 240 subordinates shows the support for all hypothesized relationships. Supervisors’ workplace stress positively affected their displaced aggression over their subordinates, which motivated subordinates to engage in unethical behavior. Moreover, the findings supported the moderating effect of despotic leadership in the relationship between supervisors’ workplace stress and displaced aggression.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the limited studies on the trickledown displaced aggression phenomenon in the service (banking) sector. Moreover, the manager’s despotic leadership role as a higher-level negative supervisory behavior in increasing the supervisors’ displaced aggression shows the critical aspect in such a stressful workplace situation.

The Mediating Effects of Work Characteristics on the Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Employee Well-Being: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

Evidence points to an indirect relationship between transformational leadership (TFL) and employee well-being, and numerous work characteristics have been identified as mediators. However, the relative mediating effect of different types of job resources and job demands on the TFL-well-being relationship remains unclear, rendering it impossible to determine which ones are the most influential. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the relative mediation potential of different work characteristics in the TFL-well-being relationship in multiple three-level meta-analytical structural equation models of 243 samples. Based on the JD-R Model, this study extends this theoretical framework by suggesting TFL as a predisposing variable that influences both job resources and job demands, leading to changes in indicators of both positive and negative employee well-being. The results show that, while all the examined job resources and demands mediated the TFL-well-being relationship, organizational resources were identified as the strongest mediators. Furthermore, job demands had a strong mediating effect on the relationship between TFL and negative well-being, while job resources more strongly mediated TFL and positive well-being. We present a differentiated picture of how transformational leaders can influence their employees' well-being at the workplace, providing valuable knowledge for future research and practice.

Embracing the duality of consideration and initiating structure: CEO leadership behaviors and small firm performance

Purpose

This paper examines the relationship between chief executive officers' (CEOs') leadership behaviors (consideration and initiating structure) and firm and individual performance (i.e. profitability, affective commitment and employees' willingness to change) in small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) that need to adapt to changing environments.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data was collected from SMEs (28 firms, 235 employees) in the accounting industry along with objective performance register data (profit and return on assets). The predicted model was tested with multilevel structural equations modeling (MSEM) using a maximum likelihood estimator.

Findings

The CEO leadership behavior of initiating structure was positively related to firms' profitability, while the CEO leadership behavior of consideration was positively related to employees' willingness to change and affective commitment.

Practical implications

Small accounting firms typically offer standard services that are now being replaced by digital solutions. These firms have an incentive to offer new services, such as business advisory services. Therefore, leaders should embrace the duality of consideration and initiating structure to gain employees' willingness to change and optimize overall firm performance.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to leadership literature by examining a novel context (CEO consideration and initiation of structure in SMEs in uncertain environments) using a combination of firm performance measures (e.g. objective outcomes at the firm level and employees' willingness to change as a new measure at the individual level). In addition, it reports a comprehensive test of the full model using MSEM, the findings of which demonstrate the importance of dual leadership behaviors for CEOs.

Predicting managers' championing behavior through subordinates' change-related voice

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether managers who are not in top management perceive change-related voice from their work group as support and whether this perception is an explaining mechanism that can predict the managers' behavioral support for change. Such voice can be a valuable asset for managers during change.

Design/methodology/approach

Lower and middle managers' perceptions of subordinates' support is investigated as mediator in the relationship between group change-related voice and managers' behavioral support for change. Seventy managers who were experiencing organizational change completed a survey at two points in time. Data were analyzed using regression analyses and the bootstrapping approach.

Findings

Managers perceive promotive but not prohibitive group change-related voice as support. Perceived subordinate support serves as explaining mechanism in the relationship between promotive group change-related voice and managers' championing behavior.

Practical implications

The study's results have practical implications, as insights are gained into how managers react to upward communication from the work group and how such communication influences managers' reaction to change. These insights can be used to facilitate effective participation during change, as it creates sensitivity to managers as recipients of change.

Originality/value

Research on how managers react to change-related ideas and concerns is scarce. The study extends current research on organizational change by investigating the impact of subordinates' communications on managers' reaction to change. Research on voice is enriched by focusing on the voice-receiving process.

Self-efficacy as a resource: a moderated mediation model of transformational leadership, extent of change and reactions to change

Purpose

Drawing from conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study empirically tests the impact of transformational leadership on commitment to and intention to support organizational change, proposing self-efficacy as a mediating mechanism. This study also aims to study whether the extent of change in the organization moderates the proposed relationship between transformational leadership, self-efficacy and change reactions.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted with a sample of 298 employees going through a major organizational change. The proposed moderated mediation relationship was tested by using PROCESS macro.

Findings

The findings showed that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and reactions to change. Moreover, the extent of changes experienced by the employees moderated the relationship between self-efficacy and outcome variables. In other words, in high change contexts, self-efficacy appeared as a more salient and instrumental resource leading to positive reactions.

Practical implications

The results guide change managers to display a transformational leadership style to enhance self-efficacy of change recipients to generate positive attitudes and behaviors during change. Also, this study shows that self-efficacy particularly gains importance when the extent of change is high.

Originality/value

This study makes several important contributions to the organizational change literature. First, it shows that leaders play a crucial role in generating resources that enhance employees' positive reactions to change. Second, the conditional factor of the extent of change has not received much attention in the literature. This study raises attention to the fact that the importance of such resources may differ across low versus high extent of change contexts.

Exploring member readiness for change in manufacturing industries using phenomenology

Purpose

This paper aims to explore member readiness for change in manufacturing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors interviewed 14 upper management professionals in Northeast US state companies. Inductive analysis and creative synthesis were used for identifying important patterns, themes and relationships pertaining to external and internal factors influencing employee attitudes related to change processes.

Findings

The findings suggest relationship between process change and member readiness for change. Leadership and communication channels play a significant role in determining how members adapt and respond to organizational process changes. Companies can achieve desirable outcomes when members trust organizational leadership and perceive management as fair and transparent.

Originality/value

Currently, there is little known about the relationship between process change and member readiness for change in manufacturing industry. The study advances the theoretical literature and provides practical information for manufacturing professionals.