Affective Commitment to Change and Innovation Implementation Behavior: The Role of Charismatic Leadership and Employees’ Trust in Top Management

Abstract

This questionnaire-based study investigated the relationship between two aspects of leadership (charismatic leadership and trust in top management) and followers’ innovation implementation behavior. Findings from 194 employees working in R&D teams of a multinational automotive company indicated that charismatic leadership and trust in top management were both positively related to innovation implementation behavior, controlling for followers’ individual differences, management level, and department affiliation. The findings demonstrate that both relationships were mediated by followers’ affective commitment to change. Results implicate the need to more closely bond the concepts of affective commitment to change and innovation implementation behavior and consider their connection in future investigations.