Shaul Oreg

Resistance to Change: Developing an Individual Differences Measure

The Resistance to Change Scale was designed to measure an individuals dispositional inclination to resist changes. In Study 1, exploratory analyses indicated 4 reliable factors: Routine Seeking, Emotional Reaction to Imposed Change, Cognitive Rigidity, and Short-Term Focus. Studies 2, 3, and 4 confirmed this structure and demonstrated the scales convergent and discriminant validities. Studies 5, 6, and 7 demonstrated the concurrent and predictive validities of the scale in 3 distinct contexts. The scale can be used to account for the individual-difference component of resistance to change and to predict reactions to specific change.

Change Recipients’ Reactions to Organizational Change A 60-Year Review of Quantitative Studies

This study reviews quantitative empirical studies of change recipients’ reactions to organizational change. The authors reviewed studies published between 1948 and 2007, out of which 79 met the criteria of being quantitative studies of change recipients’ reactions to an organizational change. Through an inductive review, the authors unravel a model of (a) explicit reactions to change, in which these reactions are conceptualized as tridimensional attitudes; (b) reaction antecedents that comprise prechange antecedents (viz., change recipient characteristics and internal context) and change antecedents (viz., change process, perceived benefit/harm, and change content); and (c) change consequences, including work-related and personal consequences. On the basis of their review the authors conclude by proposing directions for future research and practical managerial implications.

Dispositional Resistance to Change: Measurement Equivalence and the Link to Personal Values Across 17 Nations

The concept of dispositional resistance to change has been introduced in a series of exploratory and confirmatory analyses through which the validity of the Resistance to Change (RTC) Scale has been established (S. Oreg, 2003). However, the vast majority of participants with whom the scale was validated were from the United States. The purpose of the present work was to examine the meaningfulness of the construct and the validity of the scale across nations. Measurement equivalence analyses of data from 17 countries, representing 13 languages and 4 continents, confirmed the cross-national validity of the scale. Equivalent patterns of relationships between personal values and RTC across samples extend the nomological net of the construct and provide further evidence that dispositional resistance to change holds equivalent meanings across nations.

Prone to Bias: Development of a Bias Taxonomy From an Individual Differences Perspective

We adopt an individual-differences perspective and introduce a model that links types of biases and types of people. We propose that biases are created in the course of peoples attempts to satisfy basic motivations, and that 3 such motivation categories underlie many of the biases discussed in the literature. Accordingly, our organizing framework integrates findings from previous research and classifies biases into verification biases, simplification biases, and regulation biases. Individual differences in core self-evaluations, in approach/avoidance temperament, and in cognitive ability and style help explain how biases come about and why some people are more likely than others to exhibit particular biases.

The Role of School Principals in Shaping Children’s Values

Instilling values in children is among the cornerstones of every society. There is wide agreement that beyond academic teaching, schools play an important role in shaping schoolchildren’s character, imparting in them values such as curiosity, achievement, benevolence, and citizenship. Despite the importance of this topic, we know very little about whether and how schools affect children’s values. In this large-scale longitudinal study, we examined school principals’ roles in the development of children’s values. We hypothesized that relationships exist between principals’ values and changes in children’s values through the mediating effect of the school climate. To test our predictions, we collected data from 252 school principals, 3,658 teachers, and 49,401 schoolchildren. A multilevel structural-equation-modeling analysis yielded overall support for our hypotheses. These findings contribute to understanding the development of children’s values and the far-reaching impact of leaders’ values. They also demonstrate effects of schools on children beyond those on academic achievement.

Source personality and persuasiveness: big five predispositions to being persuasive and the role of message involvement.

In the present studies we incorporate a Person × Situation perspective into the study of the persuasion source. Specifically, we aimed to identify the personality characteristics of the persuasive individual and test the moderating role of target and source involvement. In three studies we found support for hypothesized relationships between source persuasiveness and Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience, and evidence for a moderating effect of involvement. In a preliminary study (N = 66, M(age)  = 22.7, 64% female), we demonstrated expected differences in the personality ratings assigned to a hypothetical persuasive versus nonpersuasive individual. In Study 1 (N = 95, M(age)  = 24.1, 62% female), through sets of two-person debates, we showed that source Extraversion and Openness to Experience were positively, and Neuroticism negatively, associated with source persuasiveness. In Study 2 (N = 148, M(age)  = 24.3, 61% female), we manipulated the level of involvement and mostly replicated the results from Study 1, but, corresponding with our predictions, only when involvement was low. Our findings demonstrate the relevance of an interactionist approach to the study of persuasion, highlighting the role of personality in the study of the persuasion source.

How Do Revolutions Emerge

In 1968, a young high jumper named Dick Fosbury revolutionized his field by winning the Olympic gold medal with a back-first flop that he himself had invented. Through an in-depth analysis of the case of the Fosbury flop, we explore the process through which radical innovations can be achieved. Observations relating to the evolution of radical innovations are highlighted, and similarities between this case and a variety of well-known business cases are discussed.

Resistance to Change and Performance: Toward a More Even-Handed View of Dispositional Resistance:

The tendency to resist changes is generally viewed in a negative light. In the present studies, I aim for a more balanced view and focus on the relationship between dispositional resistance to change and task performance. I demonstrate in three studies that whereas resistant individuals rate more poorly on nonroutine tasks, they outperform nonresistors on routine tasks. In Study 1, using data from 79 job applicants demonstrated, dispositional resistance to change was negatively associated with participants’ performance on nonroutine tasks and positively associated with their performance on routine tasks. These effects were replicated among 73 lab participants who performed an unstructured and dynamic nonroutine task (Study 2) and 108 participants who performed a routine and monotonous task (Study 3). The findings support a more balanced view of dispositional resistance to change, acknowledging its potential benefits for performing routine tasks, alongside its detrimental effects for performance on nonroutine tasks.

Translating Dispositional Resistance to Change to the Culture Level: Developing a Cultural Framework of Change Orientations: Cultural reactions to change

A fundamental societal challenge is to balance the desire for growth, development, and progress on the one hand and the need for stability and maintenance of the status quo on the other. To better understand how societies deal with this challenge we employ the personality trait of dispositional resistance to change to conceptualize and empirically establish the concept of cultural change orientation. With data from individuals in 27 countries (N = 6487), we identify three culture–level change orientation dimensions (routine seeking, affective reactance, and cultural rigidity) and interpret their meaning through their relationships with established cultural frameworks (e.g. GLOBE, Hofstede, Inglehart, and Schwartz). We thus propose a new culture–level framework and test hypotheses about relationships between change orientation dimensions and national indexes of economic, technological, social, and environmental change. Our findings demonstrate meaningful differential relationships between the three change orientation dimensions and these societal outcomes. Copyright

The Impact of Top Leaders’ Personalities: The Processes Through Which Organizations Become Reflections of Their Leaders:

The fascination with leaders and their impacts can be traced to ancient times and continues to this day. Organizations are often viewed as reflections of their leaders’ personalities, yet empirical evidence for this assumption has begun to amass only recently. In this article, we review this literature and trace findings about leaders’ personality traits, values, and motives and about the mechanisms through which these are manifested in their organizations. We specifically elaborate on research linking senior leaders’ values to organizational outcomes (e.g., financial performance, schoolchildren’s values) and demonstrate the mediating role of the organizational culture and climate.