| dc.description.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. | nb_NO |
