Am I the Only One? Consequences of Change Championing (A)symmetry on Group- and Individual-Level Change Outcomes

Employee change championing (i.e., discretionary behaviors to promote change to others) is critical for implementing organizational change successfully. However, extant research has been focused on individual-level championing without considering the broader group context in which championing occurs. Our study adopts a multilevel perspective to provide insights into the effects of change championing at both the group and the individual level. We collected data at two points in time from 267 employees in 69 groups undergoing an organizational change in a German technology company. Multilevel modeling results show that group championing asymmetry (i.e., the degree to which group members differ in their championing) weakens the positive effects of group championing level on change implementation effectiveness. Moreover, we shed light on the individual-level processes that underpin group championing dynamics. Our findings reveal that employees who are embedded in groups with high average championing levels perceive a more positive change impact (but do not experience higher levels of enthusiasm) and report higher levels of individual championing at a later point in time compared to employees in groups with lower championing levels. Our study expands the championing literature to the group-level and offers a multilevel perspective on the championing dynamics between individuals and groups.