Is the uncertainty of gaining legitimacy from organizational change an antecedent of employees’ resistance to change?

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to investigate whether the uncertainty of gaining legitimacy from organizational change is an important antecedent of resistance to change and to explore why some enterprises are reluctant to choose institutional entrepreneurship for transformation when the uncertainty of gaining legitimacy from organizational change is high.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses are tested by multiple regression analysis and structural equation model, using data collected from a big company with 14 subsidiaries undergoing organizational change.

Findings

Uncertainty of gaining legitimacy from organizational change not only results in resistance to change through the mediating variable – organizational readiness for change but also is an important influencing factor for enterprises’ choices of change strategy.

Research limitations/implications

Transformational change may alter original organizational legitimacy so that some enterprises prefer isomorphic change and decoupling change to maintain original organizational legitimacy, rather than institutional entrepreneurship to seek new organizational legitimacy.

Practical implications

To foster innovation and a new form of creation for firms, governments should provide enterprises with legitimacy in time by establishing a rapid legitimacy learning mechanism to supplement institutional voids, whereas enterprises should promote organizational readiness for change to reduce the negative influence of the uncertainty of gaining legitimacy.

Originality/value

This research reveals that the uncertainty of gaining legitimacy from organizational change is an antecedent of resistance to change and enriches antecedent categorical presupposition of resistance to change. These findings provide valuable insight for explaining why enterprises in economic entities with institutional voids such as China chose similar change strategies rather than institutional entrepreneurship.

Citation

Liu, H., Zhou, J., Liu, H. and Xin, B. (2021), "Is the uncertainty of gaining legitimacy from organizational change an antecedent of employees’ resistance to change?", Chinese Management Studies, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 769-784. https://doi.org/10.1108/CMS-07-2020-0309