Organizational Change Within Christian Higher Education Institutions and the Reactions of Faculty

Christian higher education in the United States is experiencing frequent transformational organizational change that is impacting faculty. Researchers have asserted that frequent, second-order organizational change correlates with interpersonal conflict, and conflict is associated with counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). These associations between change, conflict, and negative work behavior are important to understand as faculty actions could significantly impact change efforts. Because of the context of Christian higher education, this study was designed to determine if faculty organizational identification influenced the correlations of the variables. It specifically utilized a cross-sectional survey design to assess faculty (N = 267) perceptions of organizational change, interpersonal conflict, CWB, and organizational identification at 5 faith-based universities. Organizational change had a statistically significant positive association with interpersonal conflict, and conflict had a statistically significant positive correlation with CWBs. Organizational identification did not influence these correlations but was found to have a statistically significant negative relationship with interpersonal conflict and CWBs. A model was proposed using an open systems theory perspective that reflected the relationship between all the variables. The findings suggested that leaders in Christian higher education must consider the systemic effects of organizational change as they implement change initiatives