Predictors and Outcomes of Change Recipient Proactivity in Public Organizations of the Kurdistan Region of IRAQ

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Despite a growing interest in change recipients’ reactions to organizational change efforts in general and proactive change responses in particular, the extant literature has mainly overlooked the proactive behavioral responses that recipients may play in response to planned change efforts in public organizations. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to examine empirically the antecedents and work-related outcomes of the emerging concept of change recipient proactivity in the organizational change management literature. To test the study’s hypotheses, we collected data from a field study of 158 public personnel in two public organizations (universities) that were undergoing major structural reforms in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It was found that locus of control, change-related self-efficacy, prosocial motivation, formalization, and change leadership significantly predict the extent to which change recipients respond positively and proactively to organizational changes initiated by others. The study also found that change recipient proactivity (1) positively affects outcome variables such as organizational commitment and extra-role behavior; and (2) mediates the relationship between the predictor variables and extra-role behavior. This exploratory study provides initial empirical support for the claim that change recipients can step outside the boundaries of passivity and respond positively and proactively to changes initiated by others.