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

How social interaction can prevent interpersonal conflict from inducing turnover intentions and diminishing championing behaviour

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to draw from conservation of resources theory to examine how employees’ experience of resource-draining interpersonal conflict might diminish the likelihood that they engage in championing behaviour. Its specific focus is on the mediating effect of their motivation to leave the organization and the moderating effect of their peer-oriented social interaction in this connection.

Design/methodology/approach

The research hypotheses are empirically assessed with quantitative survey data gathered from 632 employees who work in a large Mexican-based pharmacy chain. The statistical analyses involved an application of the Process macro, which enabled concurrent estimations of the direct, mediating and moderating effects predicted by the proposed conceptual framework.

Findings

Emotion-based tensions in co-worker relationships decrease employees’ propensity to mobilize support for innovative ideas, because employees make plans to abandon their jobs. This mediating role of turnover intentions is mitigated when employees maintain close social relationships with their co-workers.

Practical implications

For organizational practitioners, this study identifies a core explanation (i.e. employees want to quit the company) for why frustrations with emotion-based quarrels can lead to a reluctance to promote novel ideas – ideas that otherwise could add to organizational effectiveness. It also highlights how this harmful process can be avoided if employees maintain good, informal relationships with their colleagues.

Originality/value

For organizational scholars, this study explicates why and when employees’ experience of interpersonal conflict translates into complacent work behaviours, in the form of tarnished idea championing. It also identifies informal peer relationships as critical contingency factors that disrupt this negative dynamic.

Empowering leadership and behavioural support for change: the moderating role of a diverse climate

Purpose

Members' behaviour to support change is a critical factor in organisational change. Building on social cognitive theory, this research investigates how empowering leadership (EL) contributes to behavioural support for change in higher education. The paper argues that the relationship between EL and behavioural support for change is moderated by diversity climate.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the hypotheses, 107 colleges from the highest-ranking 11 universities in Indonesia, consisting of 1,634 faculties, participated in this study.

Findings

Members would experience higher support for change with EL. Furthermore, the positive relationship between EL and behavioural support for change was stronger in members who perceived a more diverse climate.

Originality/value

This study empirically tested how behaviour to support change was determined by leaders' empowering behaviour based on social cognitive theory in a high-power distance culture. In terms of its methodological contributions, this study used a multi-level analysis in order to test EL. Finally, the research on behavioural support for change has been expanded upon through a unit-level analysis.

The Inhibitory Effect of Perceived Organizational Politics on Employee Voice Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model

Research on the mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions of perceived organizational politics’ (POP) effect on employee voice is underdeveloped. Based on conservation of resources theory, we proposed a moderated mediation model in which organizational embeddedness acts as a mediator to explain why POP inhibits promotive and prohibitive voice. Additionally, we posited sense of impact as a boundary condition affecting this relationship. A time-lagged survey of 227 employed MBA students from a university in southwestern China revealed that organizational embeddedness mediates the relationship between POP and promotive and prohibitive voice, and sense of impact moderates the relationship between POP and promotive voice, such that the relationship is stronger when sense of impact is weaker. The moderating effect was not significant for prohibitive voice. These findings have implications for theory, practice, and further organizational research.