Institutionalizing behavioral support for change among academic staff in public universities in Pakistan

Individuals’ support for change is a critical success factor for implementing change. Although numerous studies have been performed to understand the underlying behavioral dynamics concerning individuals’ support for change, little has been explored on how one’s support for change unfolds into a behavioral demonstration in organizational settings, particularly in higher education. Taking into account these potential avenues, this study aims to examine the predictors and processes that explain the bi-folded perspective of academics’ behavioral support for change in the form of compliance and championing behavior. Drawing on Job Demands- Resources theory (JD-R) and Lewin’s 3-Step Change Model, the study, in particular, unveils the effect of academics’ readiness beliefs on behavioral support for change that is mediated by approach-avoidance mechanisms of job crafting and moderated by bureaucratic context. Following the cross-sectional research design, the study collected data from the academic staff of six public universities in the Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan. A total of 545 self-reported questionnaires were distributed, whereby 308 were returned, and 292 were found usable for data analysis and Hypothesis testing. The results supported the study’s proposed Hypothesis and showed that academic staffs’ readiness perceptions (i.e. appropriateness, change-efficacy, principal support, and personal valence) positively predict approach job crafting that further leads to their compliance and championing behavior. The results reveal that academics’ avoidance of job crafting behaviors negatively translates into compliance and championing behavior. The results also lend partial support to the hypothesis stating that the negative relationship between academic staffs’ change-efficacy, principal support readiness, and avoidance of job crafting would be stronger when the bureaucratic context is high. The study further reflects upon the theoretical, empirical, practical contributions and managerial implications for academics and top officials