Cynicism about Organizational Change

TLDR

A new construct called Cynicism About Organizational Change (CAOC) was proposed and distinguished from related concepts. The CAOC scale was validated with confirmatory factor analysis, showing acceptable reliability, and antecedents were examined 21 months prior to measurement. CAOC was not linked to general negative affectivity but was associated with limited prior change exposure, ineffective leadership, and lack of participation, and it negatively correlated with change attitudes, motivation, commitment, grievances, and the perceived link between performance and pay.

Abstract

A new construct called Cynicism About Organizational Change (CAOC) was proposed and distinguished from related concepts. The measure of CAOC was supported by confirmatory factor analysis and has acceptable internal consistency reliability. Potential antecedents (measured 21 months before the measurement of CAOC) were examined. Little support was found for CAOC having dispositional roots in one’s general negative affectivity. More support was found for CAOC being learned as a result of little previous change, ineffective leadership practices, and lack of participation in decisions. CAOC was negatively correlated with a concurrent measure of organizational change and with the motivation to keep on trying to support change efforts. In addition, CAOC was negatively correlated with factors outside the realm of change: organizational commitment and the number of labor grievances. Finally, CAOC weakened the instrumentality perception of the relationship between performing well and earning more money, while holding the actual pay system constant.