This study aims to construct and empirically test a theoretical model of a mediated relationship between ethical leadership and organizational cynicism.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to construct and empirically test a theoretical model of a mediated relationship between ethical leadership and organizational cynicism.
Design/methodology/approach
From a communication perspective, this study examines the underlying mechanism of the association between ethical leadership and organizational cynicism. A cross-sectional survey was sent to participants in different occupations. Path analysis was used to test the overall model fit.
Findings
The results indicate that ethical leadership has both a direct and indirect effect on organizational cynicism through the mediating role of leader-member exchange (LMX) and organizational identification. However, a surprising finding is that the mediating mechanisms of LMX and organizational identification are not in a parallel structure, but in a serial pattern. That is, the mediating role of LMX is further mediated by organizational identification.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature in several aspects. First, the study sheds light on leadership as an important source of organizational cynicism. In particular, the theoretical model presents pathways that show how the predictive effects of ethical leadership on organizational cynicism are mediated through leader-member relationships and organizational identification. Second, the theoretical analysis on the mediating process highlights the role of communication in facilitating the influence of leadership and constructing organizational identification. Third, the mediating model offers concrete guidance for organizations in their attempt to mitigate organizational cynicism.
Details
Keywords
The study was designed to generate and test a model of employee cynicism toward organizational change from the communication perspective in a higher education institution.
Abstract
Purpose
The study was designed to generate and test a model of employee cynicism toward organizational change from the communication perspective in a higher education institution.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the theoretical framework of social information processing (SIP), the study investigated the communication processes in the social context, which contributed to employee cynicism toward organizational change in the higher education setting. Path analysis was used to test the overall model fit.
Findings
The findings suggest that the three variables, perceived quality of information, cynicism of colleagues, and trust in the administration, predict change‐specific cynicism, which, in turn, lead to intention to resist change.
Research limitations/implications
As an initial attempt to explain employee cynicism toward organizational change in higher education settings, this model inevitably has loose ends. Further research is needed to expand the model from a communication perspective.
Practical implications
The research provided administrators with strategies and advices to cope with employee cynicism during organizational change.
Originality/value
This is the first known study to examine the concept of change‐specific cynicism within the theoretical framework of SIP. It points to a new direction which warrants the attention of communication scholars.