The elements of interactive agency in rapid, continuous change: a qualitative study of leader actions and employee outcomes and responses of agency in a large, hierarchical organization

Abstract

There is a lack of attention on how to facilitate agency in the existing change management literature. This thesis aims to be a response to that deficit. Our intention was to look further into the employees’ role in facilitating agency, since it is not as apparent in the literature as the leader role and actions. This was done through semi-structured interviews by using a positive approach as an analytic pathway. Our findings reveal how both leaders and employees’ actions are important in facilitating agentic behavior, and that both parties are depended on each other through what we call interactive agency. More specifically, our findings identified four leader actions, which is invitation, trust, support and guidance, and four employee outcomes, called locus of control, independence, self-efficacy and feeling of mastery. These outcomes lead the employees to respond with agentic behavior, such as initiating actions, becoming self-driven, setting ambitious goals, going the extra mile and taking on more challenging tasks. Conclusively, this thesis provides insight on how to facilitate agency, and how interactive agency is a key driver of positive change. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.