Predictors and processes related to employees’ change‐related compliance and championing

Abstract

This field study of a merger examines the antecedent factors and processes that explain two different forms of employee support for change-compliance and championing. Our overarching goal is to understand why some employees comply and others champion change efforts. We examine the combined effects of context and person factors on both positive and negative employee reactions to change, and then investigate the differential effects of these reactions on employee support for change. Results support our hypotheses and show that change management support (context factor) negatively predicts threat appraisals and positively predicts challenge appraisals. Both compliance and championing are positively predicted by challenge appraisals, and threat appraisals are negatively related to championing. Analyses also reveal that the positive relationship between change management support and challenge appraisal is stronger when dispositional resistance to change (person factor) is high. Moderated-mediation analyses suggest employees' compliance and championing for change are differentially affected by management actions, their own dispositional resistance, and that these effects are mediated through positive and negative appraisals.

Spiraling work engagement and change appraisals: A three-wave longitudinal study during organizational change.

“…By examining whether the accumulation of work engagement is more likely to occur via engagement hindering negative or fostering positive cognitions, we extend existing broaden-and-build and work engagement research that has largely focused on examining positive cognitions (e.g., finding positive personal meaning, optimism, hope; Bailey et al, 2017;Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003;Kiken & Fredrickson, 2017), thus sidelining negative cognitions. This similarly extends research pertaining to employees' reactions to change, as this work has focused disproportionately on negative reactions to change, such as threat, turnover, and negative emotions (for rare exceptions, see Fugate & Soenen, 2018;Rafferty & Restubog, 2017). Our findings elucidate whether enhancing positive or hindering negative appraisals might be more important for increasing work engagement during change events, and if the positive effects of engagement are best understood as enhancing positive or counteracting negative appraisals.…”

“…organizational changes, such as whether a change is positive for them personally and provides potential future benefits (challenge appraisal), or whether the change is negative and may generate potential future losses (threat appraisal; Fugate & Soenen, 2018;Rafferty & Restubog, 2017). Challenge appraisal reflects one's confidence to prevail in the face of demands, while threat appraisal is characterized by low expectations regarding one's future adjustment (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).…”

Creating Energy for Change: The Role of Changes in Perceived Leadership Support on Commitment to an Organizational Change Initiative

“…Indeed, during times of change, leader support of the effort has been viewed as critical for affecting an employee's personal commitment to change (Holt et al, 2007;Shin et al, 2015;Stouten et al, 2018). Leader-support-behaviors that influence commitment include explaining the "why" and communicating information surrounding the change effort, creating a climate that supports innovation, rewarding supportive behaviors, mobilizing individuals, and providing adequate training necessary to fulfill new responsibilities (Battilana et al, 2010;Ford et al, 2003;Fugate & Soenen, 2018). These leader-support behaviors build momentum for organizational change by infusing energy into the pursuit of a new course of action (Jansen, 2004) and demonstrating to others that the change is valued.…”

Examining psychological capital of optimism, self-efficacy and self-monitoring as predictors of attitude towards organizational change

“…Similarly, studies have examined organizational change attitude from the perspective of resistance (negative) and acceptance (positive), which is often expressed as a continuum. 6 Other studies 13,14 have added extensively knowledge of what are the antecedents, predictors and determinants of employee attitude towards organizational change. The consequences of organizational change attitude are the degree of acceptance or rejection of a given change.…”