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The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for implicit change leadership theory (ICLT) and to explore its relationship with perceived effectiveness of change management (CM).

The study employed a mixed-methods design. It used a qualitative approach to identify schemas on the traits and behaviors of an ideal leader and schemas on what constitute effective CM. A quantitative approach was followed to test the conceptual model.

The study suggests five competencies of ideal change leaders: strategic and technical competencies, execution competencies, social competencies, character, and resilience. Together, these five competencies comprise an ICLT. Moreover, schema congruence correlates with perceived effectiveness of CM. The closer the congruence between subordinates’ ideal change leader and their actual change leader, the greater the perceived effectiveness of CM.

The study was limited to employees in the Philippines. It is thus suggested that data gathering in other populations be conducted to allow for generalizability of results. The research was cross-sectional in design, that limits causal explanations. Longitudinal studies examining perceptions and attitudes during and after the implementation of change could provide more robust evidence of the relationships between schemas and perceptions of change.

The results suggest that to increase the chances of success of their change initiatives, organizations could consider leadership development interventions that could enhance the competencies of their leaders in the implicit change leadership constructs. Organizations also need to consider employee schemas of effective CM when implementing change.

The main contribution of this paper is to expand implicit leadership theory by applying it to a specific leadership context, that of organizational change, and to derive an ICLT.

The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in implicit change leadership schemas and their relationship with change management (CM) of employees of academic institutions and business enterprises.

This study used a quantitative approach through surveys with 645 employees in academic institutions and business enterprises. Path analysis and regression were conducted to determine the relationships between the constructs.

Results show that CM mediates the relationship of change leadership schemas and affective commitment to change in both business enterprises and academic institutions. However, differences were found in the change leadership schemas that predict perceived effectiveness of CM. Execution competencies predicted effectiveness of CM in business enterprises whereas strategic and social competencies predicted perceived effectiveness of CM in academic institutions.

The limitations of the study were the use of self-report data and its cross-sectional design. Future research may use longitudinal designs and multiple sources of data to explore the relationship of change leadership schemas and perceived effectiveness of CM. Moreover, leadership schemas may be examined in other types of organizations such as non-profits, government agencies and social enterprises.

Results suggest that change leadership schemas are context-dependent. Thus, it is important to consider organizational culture and follower schemas when choosing change leaders and executing change. Moreover, differences in the saliences of change leader schemas by type of organization suggest the need to adopt contextually nuanced approaches to the selection and development of change leaders.

This paper contributes to organizational change literature by providing evidence of differences in change leadership schemas among academic institutions and business enterprises.