Thai employee resistance to organizational chance as influenced by leadership styles, influence tactics, and information adequacy

Abstract

This study explores employees’ willingness to participate in or resist change as a multidimensional construct that includes behavioral, affective, and cognitive components. The open systems theory identifies organizational change and resistance to change as an interrelationship between an organization, its members, and conditions in the environment. This study aims to identify predictors that enhance the inclination to resist change among employees. Specifically, three communication variables are the foci of this study: (1) leadership styles, (2) downward influence tactics and, (3) information adequacy. Data was collected through a questionnaire from five different organizations undergoing change. Prior to data analysis, exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to identify culturally specific aspects of the scales used in this study. Analyses of factor structure revealed that the structures of Thai leadership styles, downward influence tactics, and perceived information adequacy differed from that found in the prior research. Findings from a ANOVA resulted in the exclusion of one company and the aggregated data from the four companies. To assess data, hierarchical regression analysis was used because the specification of the order which is entered into the equation provides accurate significance tests. The findings revealed that management-by-exception: action, passive avoidance, legitimizing, and assertiveness are the significant predictors of employee disposition to resist change. The absence of individual-consideration style of leadership and the inadequate amount of information during the period of organizational change predict resistance only at the emotional level. Further, the findings evoke the awareness of ambivalent resistance to change. Implications for future research and practices are discussed.