Followership

Followership’s Impact on Readiness for Change and Innovative Output at the Workplace

Lynn Ampadu-Boateng | 2025

Abstract

The efficacy of an organization is influenced by how a leader manages changes, followers, strategies, conflicting priorities, and available resources (Yukl, 2013). Continuously, the followers encounter challenges such as readiness for change that impairs coordination, performance, and overall innovation output (Abawari et al., 2024; Alliger et al., 2015; Burnes et al., 2016; Thompson & Choi, 2006). This empirical and quantitative study aimed to explore and elucidate the workplace’s difference in principal support, valence, and innovative output by followership styles. The study used the following instruments: Kelley Followership Questionnaire (Kelley, 1992), Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs Scale (OCRBS; Armenakis et al., 2007; principal support six questions and valence four questions), and Innovative Output (De Jong & Den Hartog, 2008; six employee rated questions). Over a short period, 362 completed responses—117 male and 245 female—were received. Participants’ ages ranged from 18 to above 50; 66.9% of respondents were 50 years and above. The survey’s reliability was evaluated using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha (Bonett & Wright, 2015). The study indicated Cronbach’s alpha values of .88, .95, .92, and .91, demonstrating that all scales (independent thinking, active engagement, OCRBS, innovation output) showed excellent or good consistency, confirming the measure’s reliability and validation. A one-way analysis of variance and a Bonferroni post hoc test were performed using SPSS to examine the significant differences in readiness for change (principal support and valence) and innovative output based on followership styles. This study accepted all three hypotheses, providing significant new insights into followership styles, organizational readiness for change, and innovation output. The study’s findings are valuable in cultivating organizational change policies and frameworks, such as implementing a structural change communication system, providing training, and initiating change activities early in the change process. These strategies enhance change accomplishment by developing a favorable organizational environment that promotes change, thus improving innovative output.