Joris van der Voet

Implementing Change in Public Organizations: The relationship between leadership and affective commitment to change in a public sector context

Abstract We propose and test a theoretical framework concerning the relationship between transformational leadership behaviour and affective commitment to change in a public sector context. We apply change management theory to explain how direct supervisors contribute to processes of organizational change, thereby increasing affective commitment to change among employees. While the change leadership literature emphasizes the role of executive managers during change, we conclude that the transformational leadership behaviour of direct supervisors is an important contribution to the successful implementation of change. Furthermore, the results show how the specific context of public organizations determines the transformational leadership behaviour of direct supervisors.

Change Management in Hard Times: Can Change Management Mitigate the Negative Relationship Between Cutbacks and the Organizational Commitment and Work Engagement of Public Sector Employees?

Public management research has paid little attention to the implementation processes through which public organizations implement cutbacks. In this study, we examine how the implementation of cutbacks is related to employees’ organizational commitment and work engagement in the Dutch public sector, and to what extent the use of change management practices may mitigate a negative relationship between cutbacks and these factors. The analysis of 6,066 employees indicates that cutbacks are negatively related to employee attitudes regarding their membership in their organization (organizational commitment), but not to attitudes regarding their work (work engagement). Moreover, although change management practices are only moderately applied in the implementation of cutbacks, the analysis indicates that these may partly alleviate the negative relationship between cutbacks and organizational commitment. The evidence presented in this study thus indicates that more attention should be given to the processes through which budget cutbacks are implemented in public organizations.

What’s in it for others? The relationship between prosocial motivation and commitment to change among youth care professionals

ABSTRACT This study assesses the relationship between prosocial motivation and commitment to change among youth care professionals. We draw on person–environment fit theory to propose that this relationship is conditional on employees’ perceived meaningfulness of the change for society and clients. Our results confirm the expected positive relationship between prosocial motivation and commitment to change. Our analysis suggests that the moderating relationship between prosocial motivation, client meaningfulness and commitment to change should be understood as a substitutive relationship: both prosocial motivation and client meaningfulness are sufficient conditions, but the presence of both is not a necessary condition for commitment to change.

Change Leadership and Public Sector Organizational Change Examining the Interactions of Transformational Leadership Style and Red Tape

The implementation of organizational change is a considerable challenge for public organizations. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of leadership in change processes in public organiza...The implementation of organizational change is a considerable challenge for public organizations. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of leadership in change processes in public organizations, but limited empirical evidence exists. Moreover, the contribution of change leadership in organizational change is likely to be dependent on the particular characteristics of public organizations. This study concerns the relationship between direct supervisors’ change leadership and the commitment to change of change recipients, and examines to what extent this relationship is related to the bureaucratic features that often characterize public organizations. The findings indicate that change leadership contributes to change recipients’ commitment to change by providing high-quality change communication and stimulating employee participation in the implementation of change. However, the findings also indicate that red tape perceptions of change recipients and a low reliance on a transformational leadership style impede the potential of change leadership to bring about employee participation in the implementation of change.

Shifting Administrative Intensity and Employee Composition: Cutback Management in Education

Many public organizations are increasingly confronted with substantive and unpredictable reductions of financial resources. Despite growing research attention to this issue, empirical investigation of the organizational consequences of decline and turbulence has been limited. This article aims to understand the combined effects of decline and turbulence on personnel, one of the largest expenditure categories in organizations. Analyses use data from 2- and 4-year public institutions of higher education in the United States from 1988 to 2012. Findings in this context suggest that while decline alone has little to no effect on staffing, turbulence is associated with larger effects that are moderated by decline. Two-year institutions more closely resemble operational, efficiency-oriented responses to turbulence, and 4-year institutions reflect a more strategic reaction.