Cynical About Change? A Preliminary Meta-Analysis and Future Research Agenda

Cynicism about organizational change is often considered an important factor that influences employee acceptance of change initiatives. However, cynicism has been compared with several similar constructs with little conceptual or empirical differentiation. To provide a deeper understanding of change...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of applied behavioral science Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 429 - 450
Main Authors Thundiyil, Tomas G., Chiaburu, Dan S., Oh, In-Sue, Banks, George C., Peng, Ann C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.12.2015
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Comparative studies
Employee attitude
Meta-analysis
Organizational behavior
Organizational change
Systematic review
Trust
meta-analysis
resistance to change
organizational change cynicism
employee trust
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Summary:Cynicism about organizational change is often considered an important factor that influences employee acceptance of change initiatives. However, cynicism has been compared with several similar constructs with little conceptual or empirical differentiation. To provide a deeper understanding of change cynicism, we compare and contrast it with similar—yet distinct—constructs: organizational trust, resistance to change, and organizational cynicism. We begin with a narrative review of the conceptual distinctions and similarities among these constructs, followed by meta-analysis of the nomological network of change cynicism. In addition, we compare the nomological network of change cynicism with those of organizational cynicism and trust. We discuss the need for a refined conceptualization of cynicism and suggest new areas for future research.
ISSN:0021-8863
1552-6879
DOI:10.1177/0021886315603122