Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-17T12:46:36.731Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A mediated model of the effect of organizational culture on the intentions to engage in change-supportive behaviors: insights from the theory of planned behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2020

Ahmad Bayiz Ahmad Open the ORCID record for Ahmad Bayiz Ahmad [Opens in a new window] ,
Atif Saleem Butt ,
Dingxiang Chen  and
Bangcheng Liu
Ahmad Bayiz Ahmad
Affiliation:
School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China University of Raparin, Ranya, Kurdistan Region of Iraq University of Kurdistan Hewler, Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Atif Saleem Butt
Affiliation:
American University of Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
Dingxiang Chen
Affiliation:
School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Bangcheng Liu*
Affiliation:
School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
*
Author for correspondence: Bangcheng Liu, E-mail: liubangcheng@sjtu.edu.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study positions perceived organizational culture's (OC) as an important internal contextual factor that influences employee reactions to change. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and organization theory research, we analyze the mechanisms through which employee perceptions of OC generate its effect on employee responses to organizational change. Data from a field study of 171 employees in Kurdistan Region of Iraq's public school teachers showed that employee perceptions of developmental culture were positively and directly related to their change-supportive intentions (CSIs) and, as suggested by the TPB, its effects are simultaneously mediated by change-related attitude (CRA), subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. However, our findings demonstrated that hierarchical culture was only indirectly related to employee CSIs; this relationship was mediated only by CRA and subjective norm. This study is important because it broadens the remit of OC's role as change agent and provides valuable insight into how OC influences employee responses to change efforts in public organizations.

Keywords

Organizational changeorganizational cultureteachers' responses to changetheory of planned behavior
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , March 2023 , pp. 345 - 365
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdul Rashid, Z., Sambasivan, M., & Abdul Rahman, A. (2004). The influence of organizational culture on attitudes toward organizational change. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 25(2), 161–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aguirre, D., von Post, R., & Alpern, M. (2013). Culture's role in enabling organizational change survey ties transformation success to deft handling of cultural issues.Google Scholar
Ahmad, A. B., & Cheng, Z. (2018). The role of change content, context, process, and leadership in understanding employees’ commitment to change: The case of public organizations in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Public Personnel Management, 47(2), 195–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahmad, A. B., Hassan, H. A., & Al-Ahmedi, M. W. A. (2017). Motivations of government-sponsored Kurdish students for pursuing postgraduate studies abroad: An exploratory study. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(2), 105–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahmad, A. B., Liu, B., & Butt, A. S. (2019a). Predictors and outcomes of change recipient proactivity in public organizations of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. International Public Management Journal, 23(6), 823–851.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahmad, A. B., Liu, B., & Butt, A. S. (2019b). Scale development and construct clarification of change recipient proactivity. Personnel Review, 49(8), 1619–1635.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahmad, A. B., Straatmann, T., Mueller, K., & Liu, B. (2020). Employees’ change support in the public sector – A multi-time field study examining the formation of intentions and behaviors. Public Administration Review. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13275Google Scholar
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ajzen, I. (2002). Residual effects of past on later behavior: Habituation and reasoned action perspectives. Personality Social Psychology Review, 6(2), 107–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ajzen, I. (2011). The theory of planned behaviour: Reactions and reflections. Psychology & Health, 26(9), 1113–1127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ajzen, I., & Sheikh, S. (2013). Action versus inaction: Anticipated affect in the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(1), 155–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armenakis, A. A., & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational change: A review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of Management, 25(3), 293–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armenakis, A. A., Bernerth, J. B., Pitts, J. P., & Walker, H. J. (2007). Organizational change recipients' beliefs scale: Development of an assessment instrument. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43(4), 481–505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armenakis, A. A., Harris, S. G., & Mossholder, K. W. (1993). Creating readiness for organizational change. Human Relations, 46(6), 681–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (2001). Efficacy of the theory of planned behaviour: A meta-analytic review. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40(4), 471–499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, USA: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Barnard, C. I., Barnard, C. I., & Andrews, K. R. (1968). The functions of the executive (Vol. 11). Boston, USA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Barzelay, M. (1992). Breaking through bureaucracy: A new vision for managing in government. California, USA: Univ. of California Press.Google Scholar
Battaglio, R. P., Belardinelli, P., Bellé, N., & Cantarelli, P. (2018). Behavioral public administration ad fontes: A synthesis of research on bounded rationality, cognitive biases, and nudging in public organizations. Public Administration Review, 79(3), 304–320. doi: 10.1111/puar.12994CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beer, M., & Nohria, N. (2000). Cracking the code of change. Harvard Business Review, 15(May–June), 12–18.Google Scholar
Berson, Y., Oreg, S., & Dvir, T. (2008). CEO Values, organizational culture and firm outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(5), 615–633.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biswas, K., Boyle, B., Mitchell, R., & Casimir, G. (2017). A mediated model of the effects of human resource management policies and practices on the intention to promote women: An investigation of the theory of planned behaviour. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(9), 1309–1331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buick, F. (2013). The culture solution? Culture and common purpose in Australia. In J. O'Flynn, D. Blackman, & John Halligan (Eds.), Crossing boundaries in public management and policy (pp. 98–111). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Buick, F., Carey, G., & Pescud, M. (2018). Structural changes to the public sector and cultural incompatibility: The consequences of inadequate cultural integration. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 77(1), 50–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caldwell, S. D., Roby-Williams, C., Rush, K., & Ricke-Kiely, T. (2009). Influences of context, process and individual differences on nurses’ readiness for change to Magnet status. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(7), 1412–1422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Christensen, T., Lægreid, P., Roness, P. G., & Røvik, K. A. (2007). Organization theory and the public sector: Instrument, culture and myth. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conner, D. (1992). Managing at the speed of change: How resilient managers succeed and prosper where others fail. New York, USA: Random House.Google Scholar
Crous, F., & Scheel, R. (2007). Leveraging organisational cultural capital. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 33(1), 29–37.Google Scholar
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change. Boston, MA, USA: Cengage learning.Google Scholar
Dawkins, C. E., & Frass, J. W. J. E. R. (2005). Decision of union workers to participate in employee involvement: An application of the theory of planned behaviour. Employee Relations, 27(5), 511–531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denison, D. R., & Mishra, A. K. (1995). Toward a theory of organizational culture and effectiveness. Organization Science, 6(2), 204–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eby, L. T., Adams, D. M., Russell, J. E., & Gaby, S. H. (2000). Perceptions of organizational readiness for change: Factors related to employees' reactions to the implementation of team-based selling. Human Relations, 53(3), 419–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandez, S., & Rainey, H. G. (2006). Managing successful organizational change in the public sector. Public Administration Review, 66(2), 168–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fishbein, M. (1980). A theory of reasoned action: some applications and implications. Paper presented at the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.Google Scholar
García-Morales, V. J., Jiménez-Barrionuevo, M. M., & Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, L. (2012). Transformational leadership influence on organizational performance through organizational learning and innovation. Journal of Business Research, 65(7), 1040–1050.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
George, B., & Pandey, S. K. (2017). We know the Yin – But where is the Yang? Toward a balanced approach on common source bias in public administration scholarship. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 37(2), 245–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gulick, L. J. C. O. O. T. (Ed.) (1937). Notes on the theory of organization (Vol. 3). New York, USA: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Hameed, I., Khan, A. K., Sabharwal, M., Arain, G. A., & Hameed, I. (2019). Managing successful change efforts in the public sector: An employee's readiness for change perspective. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 39(3), 398–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, P. H. (2007). Organizational culture and organizational change: The transformation of savings banks in Denmark, 1965–1990. Enterprise & Society, 8(4), 920–953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hassan, H. A., Zhang, X., & Ahmad, A. B. (2020). Red tape and change-supportive intention: An extension of the theory of planned behavior. Leadership Organization & Development Journal. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-07-2020-0286CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hassan, H. A., Zhang, X., Ahmad, A. B., & Liu, B. (2020). Public service motivation and employee change-supportive intention: Utilizing the theory of planned behavior. Public Personnel Management, 0091026020934515.Google Scholar
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Heiny, J., Ajzen, I., Leonhäuser, I.-U., & Schmidt, P. (2019). Intentions to enhance tourism in private households: Explanation and mediated effects of entrepreneurial experience. Journal of Entrepreneurship Innovation in Emerging Economies, 2393957519858531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herold, D. M., Fedor, D. B., Caldwell, S., & Liu, Y. (2008). The effects of transformational and change leadership on employees' commitment to a change: A multilevel study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 346–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herscovitch, L., & Meyer, J. P. (2002). Commitment to organizational change: Extension of a three-component model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), 474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holt, D. T., Armenakis, A. A., Feild, H. S., & Harris, S. G. (2007). Readiness for organizational change: The systematic development of a scale. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43(2), 232–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hood, C. (1991). A public management for all seasons? Public Administration, 69(1), 3–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hornung, S., & Rousseau, D. M. (2007). Active on the job – Proactive in change: How autonomy at work contributes to employee support for organizational change. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43(4), 401–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jilke, S., Olsen, A. L., Resh, W. G., & Siddiki, S. (2019). Microbrook, mesobrook, macrobrook. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, 2(4), 245–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jimmieson, N. L., Peach, M., & White, K. M. (2008). Utilizing the theory of planned behavior to inform change management: An investigation of employee intentions to support organizational change. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44(2), 237–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, R. A., Jimmieson, N. L., & Griffiths, A. (2005). The impact of organizational culture and reshaping capabilities on change implementation success: The mediating role of readiness for change. Journal of Management Studies, 42(2), 361–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelman, S. (2005). Unleashing change: A study of organizational renewal in government. Washington, DC, USA: The Brookings Institute.Google Scholar
Kimberly, J., & Quinn, R. (1984). Paradox, Planning and Perseverance: Guideline for Managerial Practice [Managing Organizational Transitions]. Illinois: Irwjn. In.Google Scholar
Kuipers, B. S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J., & Van der Voet, J. (2014). The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public Administration, 92(1), 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewin, K. (1947). Field theory in social science. Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 5–41.Google Scholar
Lone, J. A., Garnås, A., Myklebust, T., Bjørklund, R., Hoff, T., & Bjørkli, C. (2017). Organizational climate and investigation performance in the Norwegian police: A qualitative study. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 14(3), 227–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, P. M. (2012). Common method bias in marketing: Causes, mechanisms, and procedural remedies. Journal of Retailing, 88(4), 542–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsick, V. J., & Watkins, K. E. (2003). Demonstrating the value of an organization's learning culture: The dimensions of the learning organization questionnaire. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 5(2), 132–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McEachan, R. R. C., Conner, M., Taylor, N. J., & Lawton, R. J. (2011). Prospective prediction of health-related behaviours with the theory of planned behaviour: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology Review, 5(2), 97–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Metselaar, E. E. (1997). Assessing the willingness to change: Construction and validation of the DINAMO (Doctoral dissertation). Free University of Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Montaño, D. E., & Kasprzyk, D. (2015). Health behavior and health education (Vol. 70). San Francisco, USA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Moynihan, D. P., & Pandey, S. K. J. P. A. R. (2007). The role of organizations in fostering public service motivation. Public Administration Review, 67(1), 40–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myklebust, T., Motland, K., Garnås, A., Bjørklund, R., Bjørkli, C., & Fostervold, K. I. (2020). An Empirical evaluation of the relationship between human relations climate and readiness for change. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Reilly, C. A., Chatman, J., & Caldwell, D. F. (1991). People and organizational culture: A profile comparison approach to assessing person-organization fit. Academy of Management Journal, 34(3), 487–516.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, J. P. (2009). Change and continuity: An institutional approach to institutions of democratic government. European Political Science Review, 1(01), 3–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oreg, S., Bartunek, J., Lee, G., & Do, B. (2018). An affect-based model of recipients' responses to organizational change efforts. Academy of Management Review, 43(1), 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oreg, S., Michel, A., & By, R. T. (2013). The psychology of organizational change: Viewing change from the employee's perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oreg, S., Vakola, M., & Armenakis, A. (2011). Change recipients’ reactions to organizational change A 60-year review of quantitative studies. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 47(4), 461–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborne, D., & Gaebler, T. (1992). Reinventing government: How the entrepreneurial spirit is transforming government. Reading Mass. Addison Wesley Public Comp.Google Scholar
Parker, S. K. (1998). Enhancing role breadth self-efficacy: The roles of job enrichment and other organizational interventions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(6), 835.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. J. A. R. O. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 539–569.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pollitt, C. (1993). Managerialism and the public services: Cuts or cultural change in the 1990s? Oxford, UK: Blackwell Business.Google Scholar
Pollitt, C., & Bouckaert, G. (2011). Public management reform: A comparative analysis (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Quinn, R. E., Kahn, J. A., & Mandl, M. J. (1994). Perspectives on organizational change: Exploring movement at the interface.Google Scholar
Robertson, P. J., Roberts, D. R., & Porras, J. I. (1993). Dynamics of planned organizational change: Assessing empirical support for a theoretical model. Academy of Management Journal, 36(3), 619–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. (2013). Essentials of organizational behavior (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Schein, E. H. (1996). Culture: The missing concept in organization studies. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(2), 229–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (Vol. 2). Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Selznick, P. (1996). Institutionalism ‘old’ and ‘new’. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(2), 270–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spector, P. E. (2019). Do not cross me: Optimizing the use of cross-sectional designs. Journal of Business and Psychology, 34(2), 125–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Straatmann, T., Kohnke, O., Hattrup, K., & Mueller, K. (2016). Assessing employees’ reactions to organizational change: An integrative framework of change-specific and psychological factors. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 52(3), 265–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Straatmann, T., Nolte, J. K., & Seggewiss, B. J. (2018). Psychological processes linking organizational commitment and change-supportive intentions. Personnel Review, 47(2), 403–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tenkasi, R. V., & Chesmore, M. C. (2003). Social networks and planned organizational change: The impact of strong network ties on effective change implementation and use. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 39(3), 281–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tummers, L., Steijn, B., & Bekkers, V. (2012). Explaining the willingness of public professionals to implement public policies: Content, context, and personality characteristics. Public Administration, 90(3), 716–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van de Walle, S., & Groeneveld, S. (2016). Theory and practice of public sector reform. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Voet, J. (2014). Leading change in public organizations: a study about the role of leadership in the implementation of organizational change in a public sector context. PhD. Earsmus University Rotterdam.Google Scholar
van der Voet, J. (2015). Change leadership and public sector organizational change examining the interactions of transformational leadership style and red tape. The American Review of Public Administration, 46(6), 660–682.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Voet, J., Kuipers, B. S., & Groeneveld, S. (2015). Implementing change in public organizations: The relationship between leadership and affective commitment to change in a public sector context. Public Management Review, 18(6),842–865.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Voet, J., Steijn, B., & Kuipers, B. S. (2017). What's in it for others? The relationship between prosocial motivation and commitment to change among youth care professionals. Public Management Review, 19(4), 443–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Loon, N. M. (2017). Does context matter for the type of performance-related behavior of public service motivated employees? Review of Public Personnel Administration, 37(4), 405–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation (Vol. 54). New York, USA: Wiley.Google Scholar
Wanberg, C. R., & Banas, J. T. (2000). Predictors and outcomes of openness to changes in a reorganizing workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(1), 132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watkins, K. E., & Marsick, V. J. (1993). Sculpting the learning organization: Lessons in the art and science of systemic change. San Francisco, CA, USA: ERIC.Google Scholar
Weiss, H. M., & Cropanzano, R. (1996). Affective events theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes and consequences of affective experiences at work. In Staw, B. M. & Cummings, L. L. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior: An annual series of analytical essays and critical reviews (pp. 1–74). San Diego, CA: Elsevier Science/JAI Press.Google Scholar
Weston, J. W. (2018). Individual perceptions of culture and change: a unifying perspective on change-oriented organizational cultures. PhD. Colorado State University. Libraries.Google Scholar
Withey, M. J., & Cooper, W. H. (1989). Predicting exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34(4), 521–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ybarra, O., & Trafimow, D. (1998). How priming the private self or collective self affects the relative weights of attitudes and subjective norms. Personality Social Psychology Bulletin, 24(4), 362–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zammuto, R. F., & Krakower, J. Y. (1991). Quantitative and qualitative studies of organizational culture. In W. A. Pasmore & R. W. Woodman (Eds.), Research in Organizational Change and Development: an annual series featuring advances in theory, methodology and research (pp. 83–114). Greenwich, CT, USA: JAI Press Inc.Google Scholar
Zammuto, R. F., & O'Connor, E. (1992). Gaining advanced manufacturing technologies' benefits: The roles of organization design and culture. Academy of Management Review, 17(4), 701–728.CrossRefGoogle Scholar