Internal communication as a mediator in the relationship between transformational leadership and academic staff’s readiness for change in higher education

  • Saharudin Saharudin 
    Universitas Jambi
    Indonesia
  • Ekawarna Ekawarna
    Universitas Jambi
    Indonesia
  • Urip Sulistiyo
    Universitas Jambi
    Indonesia
  • Mohd. Odha Meditamar
    Universitas Jambi
    Indonesia
  • Santo Kristiyono
    Universitas Jambi
    Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to explore the specific factors influencing academic staff’s readiness for organizational change at Islamic State University (IAIN) Kerinci, Indonesia, focusing on the mediating role of internal communication. The study examines the direct and indirect effects of organizational change readiness, transformational leadership behavior, and internal communication on staff readiness to change. A sample of 118 academic staff (40 male and 78 female) participated in this empirical study. Data were collected using an online survey, employing a Likert scale to measure the constructs. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses, with the PLS Algorithm assessing the measurement model and PLS Bootstrapping testing the structural model for mediation effects. Results revealed that organizational change readiness, transformational leadership behavior, and internal communication each have a significant positive effect on staff readiness for change. Internal communication was found to mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational change readiness on academic staff's readiness for change. Key statistical results include a significant p-value (p < 0.05) and strong mediation effects, further emphasizing the importance of effective internal communication in facilitating organizational change. The cross-sectional survey design introduces limitations, including potential response bias due to self-reporting.This study contributes to the literature on organizational change by highlighting the role of internal communication as a mediator and the unique context of Islamic higher education institutions.
Keywords
  • Organizational Change
  • Readiness
  • Transformational leadership
  • Behavior
  • internal communication
  • readiness to change
References
  1. Armenakis, A. A., & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational change: A review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of Management, Vol. 25, pp. 293–315. US: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/014920639902500303
  2. Armenakis, A. A., & Harris, S. G. (2009). Reflections: Our journey in organizational change research and practice. Journal of Change Management, Vol. 9, pp. 127–142. Armenakis, Achilles A.: Department of Management, Auburn University, AL, US, 36849, armenac@auburn.edu: Taylor & Francis. doi: 10.1080/14697010902879079
  3. Armenakis, A. A., Harris, S. G., & Mossholder, K. W. (1993). Creating readiness for organizational change. Human Relations, Vol. 46, pp. 681–703. US: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/001872679304600601
  4. Axtell, C. M., Holman, D. J., Unsworth, K. L., Wall, T. D., Waterson, P. E., & Harrington, E. (2000). Shopfloor innovation: Facilitating the suggestion and implementation of ideas. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 73, pp. 265–285. United Kingdom: British Psychological Society. doi: 10.1348/096317900167029
  5. Basu, R., & Green, S. G. (1997). Leader-Member Exchange and Transformational Leadership: An Empirical Examination of Innovative Behaviors in Leader-Member Dyads. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27(6), 477–499. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1997.tb00643.x
  6. Bycio, P., Hackett, R. D., & Allen, J. S. (1995). Further assessments of Bass’s (1985) conceptualization of transactional and transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 80, pp. 468–478. US: American Psychological Association. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.80.4.468
  7. Carmeli, A., Meitar, R., & Weisberg, J. (2006). Self‐leadership skills and innovative behavior at work. International Journal of Manpower, 27(1), 75–90. doi: 10.1108/01437720610652853
  8. Choi, J. N. (2007). Change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior: effects of work environment characteristics and intervening psychological processes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28(4), 467–484. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/job.433
  9. Choi, M., & Ruona, W. E. A. (2010). Individual Readiness for Organizational Change and Its Implications for Human Resource and Organization Development. Human Resource Development Review, 10(1), 46–73. doi: 10.1177/1534484310384957
  10. Cunningham, C. E., Woodward, C. A., Shannon, H. S., MacIntosh, J., Lendrum, B., Rosenbloom, D., & Brown, J. A. (2002). Readiness for organizational change: A longitudinal study of workplace, psychological and behavioural correlates. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75, 377–392.
  11. Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 129, pp. 569–591. Eagly, Alice H.: Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, US, 60208, eagly@northwestern.edu: American Psychological Association. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.129.4.569
  12. Eisenbeiss, S. A. (2009). Transformational leadership and team innovation: Integrating team climate principles. Strategic Direction, 25(6). doi: 10.1108/sd.2009.05625fad.005
  13. Elving, W. J. L. (2005). The role of communication in organisational change. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 10(2), 129–138. doi: 10.1108/13563280510596943
  14. Faupel, S., & Süß, S. (2019). The Effect of Transformational Leadership on Employees During Organizational Change – An Empirical Analysis. Journal of Change Management, 19(3), 145–166. doi: 10.1080/14697017.2018.1447006
  15. Ford, J. D., & Ford, L. W. (1995). The Role of Conversations in Producing Intentional Change in Organizations. The Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 541–570. doi: 10.2307/258787
  16. García, C. B., García, J., López Martín, M. M., & Salmerón, R. (2015). Collinearity: revisiting the variance inflation factor in ridge regression. Journal of Applied Statistics, 42(3), 648–661. doi: 10.1080/02664763.2014.980789
  17. Ghozali, I., & Hengky, L. (2020). Partial Least Square (Konsep, Teknik, Aplikasi Menggunakan Smart PLS 3.0 Untuk Penelitian Empiris). Semarang: BP Undip.
  18. Hair, J. ., Hult, G. T. ., Ringle, C. ., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM): Second Edition. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications Inc.
  19. Hair, J., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (2nd ed). SAGE Publications.
  20. Holt, D. T., Armenakis, A. A., Harris, S. G., & Feild, H. S. (2007). Toward a Comprehensive Definition of Readiness for Change: A Review of Research and Instrumentation. In W. A. Pasmore & R. W. Woodman (Eds.), Research in Organizational Change and Development (pp. 289–336). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. doi: 10.1016/S0897-3016(06)16009-7
  21. Hox, J. J. (2021). Confirmatory Factor Analysis. In The Encyclopedia of Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice (pp. 830–832). doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119111931.ch158
  22. Hoyle, R. H. (2000). 16 - Confirmatory Factor Analysis. In H. E. A. Tinsley & S. D. B. T.-H. of A. M. S. and M. M. Brown (Eds.), Handbook of Applied Multivariate Statistics and Mathematical Modeling (pp. 465–497). San Diego: Academic Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012691360-6/50017-3
  23. Husain, Z. (2013). Effective Communication brings successful organizational change. The Business and Management Review, 3(2), 43–50. Retrieved from http://www.abrmr.com/myfile/conference_proceedings/Con_Pro_12315/7-dubai13.pdf
  24. Jones, D. A. (2010). Does serving the community also serve the company? Using organizational identification and social exchange theories to understand employee responses to a volunteerism programme. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(4), 857–878. doi: https://doi.org/10.1348/096317909X477495
  25. Judge, T. A., & Piccolo, R. F. (2004). Transformational and transactional leadership: a meta-analytic test of their relative validity. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 755–768. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.89.5.755
  26. Jung, D. I., & Avolio, B. J. (2000). Opening the Black Box: An Experimental Investigation of the Mediating Effects of Trust and Value Congruence on Transformational and Transactional Leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(8), 949–964. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3100363
  27. Kirrane, M., Lennon, M., O’Connor, C., & Fu, N. (2017). Linking perceived management support with employees’ readiness for change: the mediating role of psychological capital. Journal of Change Management, 17(1), 47–66. doi: 10.1080/14697017.2016.1214615
  28. Lee, Y., & Chon, M.-G. (2021). Transformational leadership and employee communication behaviors: the role of communal and exchange relationship norms. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 42(1), 61–82. doi: 10.1108/LODJ-02-2020-0060
  29. Mathur, M., Kapoor, T., & Swami, S. (2023). Readiness for organizational change: the effects of individual and organizational factors. Journal of Advances in Management Research, ahead-of-p(ahead-of-print). doi: 10.1108/JAMR-02-2023-0032
  30. Men, L. R. (2014). Why Leadership Matters to Internal Communication: Linking Transformational Leadership, Symmetrical Communication, and Employee Outcomes. Journal of Public Relations Research, 26(3), 256–279. doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.908719
  31. Meria, L., Saukani, Prastyani, D., & Dudhat, A. (2022). The Influence of Transformational Leadership, Self-Efficiency On Readiness To Change with Work Engagement Mediation. Aptisi Transactions on Technopreneurship (ATT), 4(1), 75–86. doi: 10.34306/att.v4i1.242
  32. Mills, P. K., & Ungson, G. R. (2003). Reassessing the Limits of Structural Empowerment: Organizational Constitution and Trust as Controls. The Academy of Management Review, 28(1), 143–153. doi: 10.2307/30040694
  33. Muafi, Fachrunnisa, O., Siswanti, Y., El Qadri, Z. M., & Harjito, D. A. (2019). Empowering Leadership and Individual Readiness to Change: the Role of People Dimension and Work Method. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 10(4), 1515–1535. doi: 10.1007/s13132-019-00618-z
  34. Mumtaz, S., Selvarajah, C., & Meyer, D. (2023). How does human relations climate and organizational support affect readiness to change? The mediating role of employee participation and leadership excellence. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, n/a(n/a). doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.22223
  35. Musil, C. M., Jones, S. L., & Warner, C. D. (2018). Structural equation modeling and its relationship to multiple regression and factor analysis. Research in Nursing & Health, 21(3), 271–281. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-240X(199806)21:3<271::AID-NUR10>3.0.CO;2-G
  36. Novitasari, D., Goestjahjanti, F. S., & Asbari, M. (2020). The Role of Readiness to Change between Transformational Leadership and Performance: Evidence from a Hospital during Covid-19 Pandemic. APMBA (Asia Pacific Management and Business Application), 9(1), 37–56. doi: 10.21776/ub.apmba.2020.009.01.4
  37. Nuhanisa Radian, N., & L. Mangundjaya, W. (2019). Individual Readiness for Change as Mediator between Transformational Leadership and Commitment Affective to Change. Jurnal Manajemen Aset Infrastruktur & Fasilitas, 3(1), 1–12. doi: 10.12962/j26151847.v3i1.5158
  38. Oreg, S., Vakola, M., & Armenakis, A. (2011). Change recipients’ reactions to organizational change: A 60-year review of quantitative studies. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 47, pp. 461–524. Oreg, Shaul: University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel, 31905, oreg@soc.haifa.ac.il: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/0021886310396550
  39. Peng, J., Li, M., Wang, Z., & Lin, Y. (2020). Transformational Leadership and Employees’ Reactions to Organizational Change: Evidence From a Meta-Analysis. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 57(3), 369–397. doi: 10.1177/0021886320920366
  40. Shin, S. J., & Zhou, J. (2007). When is educational specialization heterogeneity related to creativity in research and development teams? Transformational leadership as a moderator. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1709–1721. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1709
  41. Suwandana, I. G. M. (2019). Role of transformational leadership mediation: effect of emotional and communication intelligence towards teamwork effectiveness. International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social Sciences, 6(2), 52–62. doi: 10.21744/irjmis.v6n2.608
  42. Suwaryo, J., Daryanto, H. K. K., & Maulana, A. (2016). Organizational Culture Change and its Effect on Change Readiness through Organizational Commitment. Bisnis & Birokrasi Journal, 22(1). doi: 10.20476/jbb.v22i1.5431
  43. Tkalac Verčič, A. (2021). The impact of employee engagement, organisational support and employer branding on internal communication satisfaction. Public Relations Review, 47(1), 102009. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102009
  44. Vakola, M. (2014). What’s in there for me? Individual readiness to change and the perceived impact of organizational change. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 35(3), 195–209. doi: 10.1108/LODJ-05-2012-0064
  45. Wang, G., Oh, I.-S., Courtright, S. H., & Colbert, A. E. (2011). Transformational Leadership and Performance Across Criteria and Levels: A Meta-Analytic Review of 25 Years of Research. Group & Organization Management, 36(2), 223–270. doi: 10.1177/1059601111401017
  46. Woo, H. . (2014). Impacts of Organizational and Individual Readiness for Organizational Change on Change Implementation and Outcome. Journal of Agricultural Education and Human Resource Development.
  47. Yue, C. A., Men, L. R., & Ferguson, M. A. (2019). Bridging transformational leadership, transparent communication, and employee openness to change: The mediating role of trust. Public Relations Review, 45(3), 101779. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.04.012.

Downloads

PDF

Statistic

Abstract Views
: 471 times
PDF
: 20 times