Follow the leader? Leader succession and staff attitudes in public sector organizations

Geys, Ben, Connolly, Sara ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6714-3493, Kassim, Hussein ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7603-8377 and Murdoch, Zuzana (2020) Follow the leader? Leader succession and staff attitudes in public sector organizations. Public Administration Review, 80 (4). pp. 555-564. ISSN 0033-3352

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Abstract

Public sector organizations face regular turnover in top leadership positions. Yet little is known about how such changes affect staff attitudes. The authors argue that top leader succession may influence staff attitudes, particularly when new leaders are “outsiders” and/or subordinates interact regularly with their leaders. Using a unique two-wave survey conducted within the European Commission in 2008 and 2014, this analysis tests these propositions by studying the same individuals before and after shifts in top political (commissioner) and administrative (director-general) positions. The study shows that leadership succession can trigger meaningful shifts in subordinates' stated attitudes regarding the European Commission's supranational identity. These findings are important because staff attitudes about organizational values and aims represent a key driver of individual and organizational performance.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Norwich Business School Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Employment Systems and Institutions Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Competition Policy Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Policy & Politics Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Research on Children and Families
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	03 Apr 2020 00:46
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2023 09:54
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/74699
DOI:	10.1111/puar.13189

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