Transformational leadership and change related voice behavior

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transformational leadership and voice during the change-planning process. The authors propose a moderated mediation model to investigate the relationship between voice, other change-related variables, and the boundary conditions of transformational leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected survey data from 124 employees and their leaders in a medical technology company in Norway. The organization was planning a major restructuring of its working procedures. The authors analyzed the data using PROCESS and a fixed effect approach.

Findings

The results suggest that transformational leadership has no effect on change-related voice (CRV) by itself. However, there is an indirect effect through affective commitment to change. This effect is conditional on the employees’ level of perceived change impact.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is limited by the cross-sectional design of the study. Other potential limitations are discussed.

Originality/value

The paper is the first to explore the relationship between transformational leadership and CRV, and is thus interesting for practitioners who wish to increase the level of CRV from their employees. Furthermore, researchers interested in organizational change and proactivity constructs such as voice will also find the paper valuable.

Citation

Svendsen, M. and Joensson, T.S. (2016), "Transformational leadership and change related voice behavior", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 357-368. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-07-2014-0124