The Influence of Change-Related Organizational and Job Resources on Employee Change Engagement

Employee attitudes to change are key predictors of organizational change success. In this article, change engagement is defined as the extent to which employees are enthusiastic about change, and willing to actively involve themselves in ongoing organizational change. A model is tested showing how change-related organizational resources (e.g., senior leader support for change and organizational change climate) influence change engagement, in part through their influence on change-related job resources. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equations Modeling (SEM) results yielded good fit to the data in two independent samples: 225 Australian working professionals, and 201 employees from a Prolific sample. As proposed, change-related organizational resources (modeled as a higher order construct) were positively associated with higher order change-related job resources. Change-related job resources were positively associated with change engagement. In contrast to expectations, organizational resources were not directly associated with change engagement. Instead, change-related job resources fully mediated the relationship. Overall, the study provides empirical support for new measures of organizational change resources and employee change engagement. By drawing from well-established models in the change and engagement literatures, the study provides a promising research direction for those interested in further understanding positive employee attitudes to organizational change. Practical implications and future research opportunities are discussed.

The role of cynicism in follower championing behavior: the moderating effect of empowering leadership

Purpose

This study investigates how, in the context of organizational change initiatives, the adoption of empowering leadership can foster positive social exchange relationships between leaders and subordinates, in turn, neutralizing cynicism about organizational change (CAOC) and allowing follower championing behavior (FCB) to emerge.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analyzed data from 908 faculty members from 11 top-rated public universities in Indonesia. The data used in this research are multisource, so the data processing steps are rwg and ICC tests, data quality testing, and hypothesis testing.

Findings

The authors found that CAOC among these members had a negative effect on their FCB, but this negative effect was buffered by the presence of empowering leadership.

Research limitations/implications

The authors' research captures perceptions at one point in time. Future research could adopt a longitudinal approach to simulate empowering leadership stimuli and investigate the impacts of FCB.

Practical implications

This study contributes to Indonesian business management, which exhibits a culture of high power distance. The findings suggest that managers should improve managers' interpersonal communication with subordinates and consider managers' feelings toward change in the organization so that managers' subordinates will provide feedback in the form of decreasing cynicism and will exhibit FCB.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the understanding of why CAOC may not be expressed explicitly in Asian countries due to Asian collectivist and high power-distance values that discourage subordinates from voicing their disagreement with change initiatives.

Antecedents and outcome of employee change fatigue and change cynicism

Purpose

Organisations implement changes either to address real business imperatives or to follow trends in their industries. But frequent changes in an organisation often lead to employee change fatigue and change cynicism. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the change logic of appropriateness and the logic of consequences on change fatigue and change cynicism and the impact of change fatigue and change cynicism on change success.

Design/methodology/approach

To carry out this study, the authors collected data on a sample of 320 participants from diverse organisations, and they used structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques to test our hypotheses depicted in the research model.

Findings

The authors found that the change logic of consequences reduces both change fatigue and change cynicism, whereas the change logic of appropriateness increases change fatigue. The authors also found that change fatigue does not have any direct effect on change success, although it maintains an indirect negative effect on change success through change cynicism.

Practical implications

Along with other practical implications, the authors recommend that change managers help employees understand any logic of consequences that sustain their change initiatives. Additionally, change managers should work to prevent change fatigue from turning into change cynicism, which is the real precursor of reduced change success.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to show that employees experience change fatigue and change cynicism differently, depending on the reason underlying the change. It is also among the first to show that change fatigue does not affect change success directly but does so through the interplay of change cynicism.

Change Engagement, Change Resources, and Change Demands: A Model for Positive Employee Orientations to Organizational Change

The purpose of this conceptual article is to introduce the construct of change engagement and a model that also consists of change-related organizational resources, change-related job resources and demands, and change-related personal resources. We propose that change engagement is a construct that is theoretically and practically useful for understanding employee reactions to and adoption of organizational change. Drawing from existing models of employee engagement, we add to the change literature by identifying salient change-related organizational resources, job resources, job demands, and personal resources in a previously validated framework that brings together the literature on both engagement and change. By using the proposed change engagement framework, practitioners and researchers will potentially be able to effectively diagnose, manage, and optimize employee change readiness and enthusiasm for ongoing change. Furthermore, the change engagement model (CEM) provides practitioners and researchers with a comprehensive and practically useful model that will be easy to comprehend and communicate. The model can be applied to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of discrete change initiatives, as well as to ongoing change. The model is therefore well-suited to contemporary organizational contexts where change is widely recognized to be a constant.

Social movements thinking for managing change in large-scale systems

Purpose

This study explores the efficacy of social movements thinking for mobilizing resources toward sustainable change in large-scale systems such as health and social services.

Design/methodology/approach

The study proceeds from a critical realist perspective employing a qualitative multi-case study approach. Drawing on the tenets of grounded theory (i.e. constant comparative analysis and theoretical sampling), data from semi-structured interviews and field notes were analyzed to facilitate theoretical integration and elaboration.

Findings

One case study explores the emergence of social movements thinking in mobilizing a community to engage in sustainable system change. Data analysis revealed a three-stage conceptual framework whereby building momentum for change requires a fundamental shift in culture through openness and engagement to challenge the status quo by acknowledging not only the apparent problems to be addressed but also the residual apathy and cynicism holding the system captive to entrenched ideas and behaviors. By challenging the status quo, energy shifts and momentum builds as the community discovers shared values and goals. Achieving a culture shift of this magnitude requires leadership that is embedded within the community, with a personal commitment to that community and with the deep listening skills necessary to understand and engage the community and the wider system in moving forward into change. This emergent conceptual framework is then used to compare and discuss more intentional applications of social movements thinking for mobilizing resources for large-scale system change.

Originality/value

This study offers a three-stage conceptual framework for mobilizing community/system resources toward sustainable large-scale system change. The comparative application of this framework to more intentional applications of social movements thinking to planned change initiatives offers insights and lessons to be learned when large-scale systems attempt to apply such principles in redesigning health and social service systems.

Upgrading at work: employee disposition and cynicism about organizational changes

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine potential predictors and moderating relationships involving one type of organizational cynicism – cynicism about organizational transformation (CAOC).

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 137 subjects participated in this study. The participants had been in their current positions at work for an average of 4.77 years and had been with their current organization an average of 7.28 years. CAOC was measured using the 12-item scale (α = 0.86) from Wanous et al.’s (2000) study. The response scale had five points ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”

Findings

CAOC and negative affectivity were positively correlated, thus supporting H1. H2 was not supported, i.e. subjective change was not related to CAOC, and objective change was actually correlated negatively with CAOC. H3 was not supported, i.e. individuals with a higher organizational commitment will not have a less positive relationship between CAOC and organizational transformation (subjective and objective) than individuals with lower organizational commitment. H4 was not supported, i.e. individuals who perceive a higher degree of petty tyranny will not have a stronger relationship between CAOC and organizational transformation (subjective and objective) than individuals who perceive a lower degree of petty tyranny. H5 was not supported, i.e. individuals who perceive a higher degree of perceived organizational support (POS) will not have a weaker relationship between CAOC and organizational transformation (subjective and objective) than individuals who perceive a lower degree of POS.

Originality/value

The intent of the present study is to examine potential causes of CAOC and potential moderators of the relationships between those antecedents and CAOC. In particular, two variables are proposed as antecedents (negative affectivity with past organizational transformations) and three as moderators (organizational commitment, petty tyranny by supervisors and POS).

From Outcome to Process Focus: Fostering a More Robust Psychological Science Through Registered Reports and Results-Blind Reviewing

A variety of alternative mechanisms, strategies, and “ways of doing” have been proposed for improving the rigor and robustness of published research in the psychological sciences in recent years. In this article, we describe two existing but underused publication models—registered reporting (RR) and results-blind reviewing (RBR)—that we believe would contribute in important ways to improving both the conduct and evaluation of psychological research. We first outline the procedures and distinguishing features of both publication pathways and note their value for promoting positive changes to current scientific practices. We posit that a significant value of RR and RBR is their potential to promote a greater focus on the research process (i.e., how and why research is conducted) relative to research outcomes (i.e., what was observed or concluded from research). We conclude by discussing what we perceive to be five common beliefs about RR and RBR practices and attempt to provide a balanced perspective of the realities likely to be experienced with these systems.

The Role of Organizational Justice and Stress in Predicting Job Burnout

This study explores how job-burnout dimensions—emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and personal accomplishment—relate to distributive justice and stress. Questionnaire data were collected in a cross-sectional design from 90 information technology professionals. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that low levels of perceived justice are associated with higher exhaustion. Next, a parallel mechanism unfolds: High levels of exhaustion are directly related to low levels of personal accomplishment. At the same time, high levels of exhaustion are associated with high levels of cynicism, which are associated with higher levels of self-accomplishment. These findings are consistent with theories, suggesting that employees may utilize cynicism as a defense mechanism in an attempt to protect the self. Cynicism also mediated the relationship between stress and personal accomplishment. Cynicism may help employees cope with exhaustion and stress and thus may protect their sense of self-worth. Theoretical and applied implications for organizations, career development, and counseling are discussed.

Shifting the paradigm: reevaluating resistance to organizational change

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to challenge the existing paradigm of resistance to organizational change by offering a novel, interdisciplinary perspective. More specifically, this paper seeks to detach from traditional formulations of resistance to change and introduce a new paradigm, reevaluating resistance through the Good Lives Model (GLM) and the concept of Primary Human Goods (PHG).

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper uses contemporary literature on resistance to organizational change to make the case that the existing paradigm is one of negativity and deficiency. The authors define resistance, as currently formulated, subsequently offering a new perspective through the GLM. The etiological underpinnings of the model are provided and the concept of PHG is defined to illustrate relevance in reevaluating resistance to change.

Findings

The paper illustrates that resistance behaviors are not individual problems of employees, which must be overcome for successful change. Rather, resistance behaviors are the manifestation of disruptions to the achievement of PHG. Moreover, the paper demonstrates the pursuit of PHG is an innately positive, human activity that change strategies should take into account. The Dialogic Organization Development approach is also integrated as a means to uncover priority goods and disruptions that may impact them.

Originality/value

The paper provides a novel reevaluation of resistance to change through the interdisciplinary application of the GLM and PHG. Further, the paper uses the model to integrate several fundamental theories of human motivation into one cohesive, consistent framework.