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The role of cynicism in follower championing behavior: the moderating effect of empowering leadership

Sabar (Department of Visual Communication Design, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Surabaya, Indonesia)
Badri Munir Sukoco (Department of Management, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia) (Postgraduate School, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia)
Robin Stanley Snell (Department of Management, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong,Sha Tin, Hong Kong)
Ely Susanto (Department of Public Policy and Management, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Teofilus (Department of Management, Ciputra University, Surabaya, Indonesia)
Sunu Widianto (Department of Management and Business, Faculty of Economics and Business, Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia)
Reza Ashari Nasution (School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology,Bandung, Indonesia)
Anas Miftah Fauzi (Postgraduate Studies, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia)

Leadership & Organization Development Journal

ISSN: 0143-7739

Article publication date: 18 May 2022

Issue publication date: 24 June 2022

783

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates how, in the context of organizational change initiatives, the adoption of empowering leadership can foster positive social exchange relationships between leaders and subordinates, in turn, neutralizing cynicism about organizational change (CAOC) and allowing follower championing behavior (FCB) to emerge.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analyzed data from 908 faculty members from 11 top-rated public universities in Indonesia. The data used in this research are multisource, so the data processing steps are rwg and ICC tests, data quality testing, and hypothesis testing.

Findings

The authors found that CAOC among these members had a negative effect on their FCB, but this negative effect was buffered by the presence of empowering leadership.

Research limitations/implications

The authors' research captures perceptions at one point in time. Future research could adopt a longitudinal approach to simulate empowering leadership stimuli and investigate the impacts of FCB.

Practical implications

This study contributes to Indonesian business management, which exhibits a culture of high power distance. The findings suggest that managers should improve managers' interpersonal communication with subordinates and consider managers' feelings toward change in the organization so that managers' subordinates will provide feedback in the form of decreasing cynicism and will exhibit FCB.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the understanding of why CAOC may not be expressed explicitly in Asian countries due to Asian collectivist and high power-distance values that discourage subordinates from voicing their disagreement with change initiatives.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This research was supported by the Kementerian Riset Teknologi Dan Pendidikan Tinggi Republik Indonesia [Indonesian Research Collaboration 2019] and Riset Mandat Universitas Airlangga 2021.

Citation

Sabar, Sukoco, B.M., Snell, R.S., Susanto, E., Teofilus, Widianto, S., Nasution, R.A. and Fauzi, A.M. (2022), "The role of cynicism in follower championing behavior: the moderating effect of empowering leadership", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 43 No. 5, pp. 669-688. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-09-2021-0424

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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