IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v188y2025ics0148296324006209.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mechanisms of vision communication and employees’ change-supportive behavior from the perspective of expectancy theory

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Yan
  • Zhou, Xiaohu
  • Zhang, Hui
  • Khanagha, Saeed

Abstract

While vision communication is widely recognized as beneficial, some studies suggest its effects may be limited or even adverse. Therefore, this paper explores the mechanisms and conditions conducive to effective vision communication. Drawing on Expectancy Theory, we develop a moderated mediation model to investigate how vision communication influences change-supportive behavior. Using survey data from 279 employees, we find that vision communication shapes employees’ change-supportive behavior by influencing their change outcome expectations. Moreover, perceived work uncertainty during organizational change positively moderates the relationship between vision communication and change outcome expectations, thereby strengthening the mediating effect. This research highlights the crucial role of employees’ work context in determining the effectiveness of leaders’ vision communication. It makes important contributions to the literature on transformational leadership and the role of uncertainty in shaping strategic behavior in firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Yan & Zhou, Xiaohu & Zhang, Hui & Khanagha, Saeed, 2025. "Mechanisms of vision communication and employees’ change-supportive behavior from the perspective of expectancy theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:188:y:2025:i:c:s0148296324006209
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115116
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296324006209
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115116?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rui-Ting Huang, 2022. "Exploring the roles of self-determined motivation and perceived organizational support in organizational change," European Journal of Management and Business Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(2), pages 193-210, November.
    2. Pascal Paillé & Nicolas Raineri, 2015. "Linking perceived corporate environmental policies and employees eco-initiatives: The influence of perceived organizational support and psychological contract breach," Post-Print hal-03795959, HAL.
    3. Frances Westley & Henry Mintzberg, 1989. "Visionary leadership and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(S1), pages 17-32, June.
    4. Kearney, Eric & Shemla, Meir & van Knippenberg, Daan & Scholz, Florian A., 2019. "A paradox perspective on the interactive effects of visionary and empowering leadership," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 20-30.
    5. Ann‐Kristin Weiser, 2021. "The Role of Substantive Actions in Sensemaking During Strategic Change," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 815-848, May.
    6. Paillé, Pascal & Raineri, Nicolas, 2015. "Linking perceived corporate environmental policies and employees eco-initiatives: The influence of perceived organizational support and psychological contract breach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 2404-2411.
    7. Sullivan, Joe H. & Warkentin, Merrill & Wallace, Linda, 2021. "So many ways for assessing outliers: What really works and does it matter?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 530-543.
    8. Jean S. Clarke & Joep P. Cornelissen & Mark Healey, 2019. "Actions Speak Louder than Words : How Figurative Language and Gesturing in Entrepreneurial Pitches Influences Investment Judgments," Post-Print hal-02276704, HAL.
    9. Constant D. Beugré & William Acar & William Braun, 2006. "Transformational leadership in organizations: an environment‐induced model," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(1), pages 52-62, January.
    10. Venus, Merlijn & Stam, Daan & van Knippenberg, Daan, 2013. "Leader emotion as a catalyst of effective leader communication of visions, value-laden messages, and goals," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 122(1), pages 53-68.
    11. van Werven, Ruben & Bouwmeester, Onno & Cornelissen, Joep P., 2015. "The power of arguments: How entrepreneurs convince stakeholders of the legitimate distinctiveness of their ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 616-631.
    12. Scott Sonenshein & Utpal Dholakia, 2012. "Explaining Employee Engagement with Strategic Change Implementation: A Meaning-Making Approach," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 1-23, February.
    13. Haffar, Mohamed & Al-Karaghouli, Wafi & Irani, Zahir & Djebarni, Ramdane & Gbadamosi, Gbolahan, 2019. "The influence of individual readiness for change dimensions on quality management implementation in Algerian manufacturing organisations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 247-260.
    14. Dennis A. Gioia & Kumar Chittipeddi, 1991. "Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(6), pages 433-448, September.
    15. repec:hal:journl:hal-02312189 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Moser, Kilian J. & Tumasjan, Andranik & Welpe, Isabell M., 2017. "Small but attractive: Dimensions of new venture employer attractiveness and the moderating role of applicants' entrepreneurial behaviors," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 588-610.
    17. Daan Stam & Robert G. Lord & Daan van Knippenberg & Barbara Wisse, 2014. "An Image of Who We Might Become: Vision Communication, Possible Selves, and Vision Pursuit," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(4), pages 1172-1194, August.
    18. Timo van Balen & Murat Tarakci & Ashish Sood, 2019. "Do Disruptive Visions Pay Off? The Impact of Disruptive Entrepreneurial Visions on Venture Funding," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 303-342, March.
    19. Anja Schulze & Stefano Brusoni, 2022. "How dynamic capabilities change ordinary capabilities: Reconnecting attention control and problem‐solving," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(12), pages 2447-2477, December.
    20. Leonina Emilia BACIU, 2017. "Expectancy Theory Explaining Civil Servants’ Work Motivation. Evidence From A Romanian City Hall," The USV Annals of Economics and Public Administration, Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Public Administration, vol. 17(2(26)), pages 146-160, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lord, Robert G. & Gatti, Paola & Chui, Susanna L.M., 2016. "Social-cognitive, relational, and identity-based approaches to leadership," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 119-134.
    2. Verena Komander & Andreas König, 2024. "Organizations on stage: organizational research and the performing arts," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 74(1), pages 303-352, February.
    3. Rocha, Vera & Pozzoli, Dario, 2021. "Give it Another Shot: Startup Experience and the Mobilization of Human Resources in New Ventures," Working Papers 11-2021, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    4. Stanley YB Huang, 2024. "How can corporate social responsibility predict voluntary pro-environmental behaviors?," Energy & Environment, , vol. 35(7), pages 3386-3398, November.
    5. Vera Rocha & Luca Grilli, 2024. "Early-stage start-up hiring: the interplay between start-ups’ initial resources and innovation orientation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1641-1668, April.
    6. Rose, Stefan & Wentzel, Daniel & Hopp, Christian & Kaminski, Jermain, 2020. "Launching for Success: The Effects of Psychological Distance and Mental Simulation on Funding Decisions and Crowdfunding Performance," SocArXiv fqbwk, Center for Open Science.
    7. Nair, Sujith & Blomquist, Tomas, 2021. "Exploring docility: A behavioral approach to interventions in business incubation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    8. Nikolai Brosch, 2023. "Corporate purpose: from a ‘Tower of Babel’ phenomenon towards construct clarity," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(4), pages 567-595, May.
    9. Lucas Amaral Lauriano & Juliane Reinecke & Michael Etter, 2022. "When Aspirational Talk Backfires: The Role of Moral Judgements in Employees’ Hypocrisy Interpretation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(4), pages 827-845, December.
    10. Giovana Vitória Nunes Leite Duarte & Susana Pereira Antunes Procópio & Angélica Cotta Lobo Leite Carneiro & Leandro de Morais Cardoso, 2022. "Development and Validation of a Tool for Assessing Sustainable Social Practices in Food Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.
    11. Lewis, Trey & Cardon, Melissa S., 2020. "The Magnetic Value of Entrepreneurial Passion for Potential Employees," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    12. Greg Fisher & Emily Neubert, 2023. "Evaluating Ventures Fast and Slow: Sensemaking, Intuition, and Deliberation in Entrepreneurial Resource Provision Decisions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(4), pages 1298-1326, July.
    13. Matt Statler & David Oliver, 2016. "The Moral of the Story: Re-framing Ethical Codes of Conduct as Narrative Processes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 89-100, June.
    14. Fadillah Ismail, 2024. "Exploring the Impact of Employee Green Behaviour, and Green HRM on Environmental Performance? The Significance of Green Innovation and Moral Credit ," GATR Journals gjbssr647, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    15. Jean S. Clarke & Nicholas Llewellyn & Joep Cornelissen & Rowena Viney, 2021. "Gesture Analysis and Organizational Research : The Development and Application of a Protocol for Naturalistic Settings," Post-Print hal-02299462, HAL.
    16. Syed Muhammad Fazal‐e‐Hasan & Hormoz Ahmadi & Harjit Sekhon & Gary Mortimer & Mohd Sadiq & Husni Kharouf & Muhammad Abid, 2023. "The role of green innovation and hope in employee retention," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 220-239, January.
    17. Liubertė, Irina & Dimov, Dimo, 2021. "“One tiny drop changes everything”: Constructing opportunity with words," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 15(C).
    18. Byung-Jik Kim & Min-Jik Kim & Julak Lee, 2024. "Code green: ethical leadership’s role in reconciling AI-induced job insecurity with pro-environmental behavior in the digital workplace," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    19. Sanjay Kumar Singh & Shlomo Y. Tarba & Geoffrey Wood & Nikos Bozionelos & Manlio del Giudice & Vijay Pereira & Hengky Latan, 2022. "Adjustment and work outcomes of self-initiated expatriates in the United Arab Emirates," Post-Print hal-04325598, HAL.
    20. Mochkabadi, Kazem & Kleinert, Simon & Urbig, Diemo & Volkmann, Christine, 2024. "From distinctiveness to optimal distinctiveness: External endorsements, innovativeness and new venture funding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:188:y:2025:i:c:s0148296324006209. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.