Daniel T. Holt

Readiness for Organizational Change The Systematic Development of a Scale

Using a systematic item-development framework as a guide (i.e., item development, questionnaire administration, item reduction, scale evaluation, and replication), this article discusses the development and evaluation of an instrument that can be used to gauge readiness for organizational change at an individual level. In all, more than 900 organizational members from the public and private sector participated in the different phases of study, with the questionnaire being tested in two separate organizations. The results suggest that readiness for change is a multidimensional construct influenced by beliefs among employees that (a) they are capable of implementing a proposed change (i.e., change-specific efficacy), (b) the proposed change is appropriate for the organization (i.e., appropriateness), (c) the leaders are committed to the proposed change (i.e., management support), and (d) the proposed change is beneficial to organizational members (i.e., personal valence).

Examining the Link between Familiness and Performance: Can the F-PEC Untangle the Family Business Theory Jungle?

Family business research appears to be caught in a “jungle” of competing theories in regards to familiness and performance. This study provides a further empirical examination into that relationship. We employ a family influence scale (the familiness–power, experience, and culture scale [F–PEC]) presented by Klein, Astrachan, and Smyrnios in an attempt to assess the relationship between familiness and performance in 831 family businesses. The resulting regression analysis adds to the current state of the literature by demonstrating significant and interesting results. Specifically, familiness showed associations with revenue, capital structure, growth, and perceived performance; however, the relationships were both positive and negative, thus casting doubt upon the F–PEC as a vehicle for untangling the jungle. We conclude with discussion and implications.

Corporate entrepreneurship: An empirical look at the innovativeness dimension and its antecedents

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to submit and test a model of corporate entrepreneurship (CE). Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 264 employees of a mid‐sized organization, the authors conceptualize three antecedent categories of CE: process, context, and individual characteristics. The authors also test the mediating affect of CE on desirable individual outcomes: job satisfaction, turnover intent, and affective commitment. Findings – The results indicate that the model does an adequate job of explaining CE, and that CE mediates the relationship between our antecedents and individual outcomes. Originality/value – For researchers, the primary value of this research is the opportunity to consider a predictive model of CE on the knowledge base currently in the field. For practitioners, the process seems to offer an important precursor to CE.

Toward a Comprehensive Definition of Readiness for Change: A Review of Research and Instrumentation

Although the measurement of organizational readiness for change has been encouraged, measuring readiness for change poses a major empirical challenge. This is not because instruments designed to do this are not available. Researchers, consultants, and practitioners have published an array of instruments, suggesting that readiness can be measured from various perspectives and the concept of readiness has not been clearly defined. This paper reviews the history of the readiness concept, the perspectives used to assess readiness, and the psychometric properties of readiness instruments. Based on the review, an integrated definition of readiness is presented along with the implications of the definition for research and practice.

Corporate Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Look at Individual Characteristics, Context, and Process

Using a sample of 151 employees from three government organizations, we tested a model of corporate entrepreneurship that is influenced by individual characteristics (represented by the five factor model of personality), context (represented by the firms memory and learning orientation), and process (represented by the facets of the Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument). Our results indicated that contextual and process variables influenced corporate entrepreneurship while the individual characteristics did not. Moreover, corporate entrepreneurship did mediate the relationship between these antecedents and job satisfaction, affective commitment, and performance.

Advancing the Field of Family Business Research: Further Testing the Measurement Properties of the F-PEC

The field of family business research is advanced by further examining the validity and reliability of Klein, Astrachan, and Smyrnios’s Family Influence on Power, Experience, and Culture Scale. Data from 831 family businesses are analyzed to assess the measure’s construct validity using exploratory and confirmatory techniques. The hypothesized three-factor model emerged to include culture, power, and experience. Extending the previous effort, the measure’s convergent validity was tested by assessing differences between the measure’s scores and the desires of the senior generation and the commitment of the next generation. Results support an initial level of convergent validity.

Are you ready? How health professionals can comprehensively conceptualize readiness for change.

One important factor influencing the successful implementation of system-wide change is initial readiness. Readiness is defined as the degree to which those involved are individually and collectively primed, motivated, and technically capable of executing the change. We present a conceptual framework that highlights three broad areas to be considered if health-care professionals are to comprehensively evaluate readiness that includes psychological factors (i.e., characteristics of those being asked to change), structural factors (i.e., circumstances under which the change is occurring) as well as the level of analysis (i.e., individual and organizational levels). We also describe more specific dimensions within each of these broad categories that have both empirical and theoretical support, presenting several valid and reliable survey instruments that measure key dimensions of readiness quantitatively.

The development of an instrument to measure readiness for knowledge management

Implementing knowledge management (KM) projects or knowledge-sharing philosophies in organizations require significant organization change. Because the introduction of change is difficult, leaders have been encouraged to proactively prepare their organizations and its members as they begin one of these initiatives. As the first step in this process, managers should comprehensively examine their organizations underlying readiness to embrace these initiatives. Unfortunately, the measurement of an organizations readiness for KM initiatives poses significant challenges because no known instrument is available to do so. Accordingly, this study drew on the KM and organizational change literature to take a first step in the development of a synergistic instrument that measures readiness for KM and applied it in an organizational setting.

Viewing Family Firm Behavior and Governance Through the Lens of Agency and Stewardship Theories

Agency and stewardship theories are prominent perspectives to examine myriad issues within family firms. Although considered opposing theories, both address the same phenomena: the individual-level behaviors and firm-level governance mechanisms that predict organizational outcomes. Accordingly, we review and synthesize these theories concurrently, using the concepts of behavior and governance as our organizing framework. Our review encompasses 107 family firm articles grounded in agency and/or stewardship theory, published between 2000 and 2014 in 24 journals across several disciplines. Additionally, we identify future research areas that provide scholars opportunities to push theoretical boundaries and offer further insights into the family firm.

Examining Family Firm Succession From a Social Exchange Perspective A Multiphase, Multistakeholder Review

We use a social exchange perspective to review family firm succession literature owing to its fit with the multiphase, multistakeholder nature of the process. We searched the history of 34 journals, finding 88 published or forthcoming articles that quantitatively examined succession. We consider the primary phases of the management succession process (ground rules, successor development, and transition) and the relevant stakeholder exchanges occurring during each phase, including exchanges between incumbents and successors, within family boundaries, and across family boundaries. We contribute to the family firm succession literature by identifying how a social exchange perspective can help guide future research.