Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Everything Gonna Be Alright: Antecedents to Nurses’ Change Adaptability in the COVID-19 Era

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Leadership After COVID-19

Part of the book series: Future of Business and Finance ((FBF))

Abstract

The present study aims to identify nurses’ abilities and behaviors affecting their adaptability to change in crisis periods. Adaptability to change is widely recognized as the main reason for difficulty in implementing change initiatives. Nevertheless, little is known about the factors triggering such a behavior in the workplace. An original research model is developed and empirically tested using primary data collected from Italian nurses between April and May 2020. In total, the final sample includes the responses of 281 nurses. Linear regression models are employed to test the hypotheses. Through the lens of change management, results show that nurses’ positive behavior, as well as their coping and leadership/authority abilities positively affect their adaptability to change. By analyzing the different dimensions of individual evaluation toward change, and also considering the environmental crisis given by COVID-19, our study expands the knowledge in the fields of change management and nursing management, thus adding something to previous works.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amarantou, V., Kazakopoulou, S., Chatzoudes, D., & Chatzoglou, P. (2018). Resistance to change: An empirical investigation of its antecedents. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 31(2), 426–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armenakis, A. A., & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational change: A review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of Management, 25(3), 293–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bordia, P., Hobman, E., Jones, E., Gallois, C., & Callan, V. J. (2004a). Uncertainty during organizational change: Types, consequences, and management strategies. Journal of Business and Psychology, 18(4), 507–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bordia, P., Hunt, E., Paulsen, N., Tourish, D., & DiFonzo, N. (2004b). Uncertainty during organizational change: Is it all about control? European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 13(3), 345–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourbonnais, R., Brisson, C., Malenfant, R., & Vézina, M. (2005). Health care restructuring, work environment, and health of nurses. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 47(1), 54–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, M. (2013). The professional nurse: Coping with change, now and the future. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, R. J. (2008). Change management in health care. The Health Care Manager, 27(1), 23–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, C. (2010). From incivility to civility: Transforming the culture. Reflections on Nursing Leadership, 36(3), 98–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohn, M. A., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2010). In search of durable positive psychology interventions: Predictors and consequences of long-term positive behavior change. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(5), 355–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiMeglio, K., Padula, C., Piatek, C., Korber, S., Barrett, A., Ducharme, M., Lucas, S., Piermont, N., Joyal, E., & DeNicola, V. (2005). Group cohesion and nurse satisfaction: Examination of a team-building approach. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 35(3), 110–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egan, G. (1988). Change agent skills B: Managing innovation and change. Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folger, R., & Skarlicki, D. P. (1999). Unfairness and resistance to change: Hardship as mistreatment. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 12(1), 35–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21(3), 219–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gentile, B., Miller, J. D., Hoffman, B. J., Reidy, D. E., Zeichner, A., & Campbell, W. K. (2013). A test of two brief measures of grandiose narcissism: The Narcissistic Personality Inventory–13 and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory-16. Psychological Assessment, 25(4), 1120–1136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, C., Fagerberg, I., & Asp, M. (2010). Supportive leadership in Swedish community night nursing. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(7), 822–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J. F., Christian, M. R., & Marko, S. (2011). “PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet.” Journal of Marketing theory and Practice, 19(2), 139–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, R. T., & Beckhard, R. (1987). Organizational transitions: Managing complex change. Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herscovitch, L., & Meyer, J. P. (2002). Commitment to organizational change: Extension of a three-component model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), 474–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houser, J. (2016). Nursing research: Reading, using and creating evidence. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Pucik, V., & Welbourne, T. M. (1999). Managerial coping with organizational change: A dispositional perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(1), 107–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiffin-Petersen, S., & Cordery, J. (2003). Trust, individualism and job characteristics as predictors of employee preference for teamwork. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(1), 93–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kock, N. (2015). Common method bias in PLS-SEM: A full collinearity assessment approach. International Journal of e-Collaboration (IJeC), 11(4), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Harvard Business Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science. Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lim, J., Bogossian, F., & Ahern, K. (2010). Stress and coping in Australian nurses: A systematic review. International Nursing Review, 57(1), 22–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippitt, R., Watson, J., & Wesley, B. (1958). The dynamics of planned change. Harcourt Brace.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luthans, F., Avey, J. B., & Patera, J. L. (2008). Experimental analysis of a web-based training intervention to develop positive psychological capital. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 7(2), 209–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oreg, S. (2006). Personality, context, and resistance to organizational change. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 15(1), 73–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, A. M., Woodman, R. W., & Cameron, K. S. (2001). Studying organizational change and development: Challenges for future research. Academy of Management Journal, 44(4), 697–713.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piderit, S. K. (2000). Rethinking resistance and recognizing ambivalence: A multidimensional view of attitudes toward an organizational change. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 783–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ployhart, R. E., & Bliese, P. D. (2006). Individual adaptability (I-ADAPT) theory: Conceptualizing the antecedents, consequences, and measurement of individual differences in adaptability. In Understanding adaptability: A prerequisite for effective performance within complex environments. Emerald Group Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plsek, P. E., & Greenhalgh, T. (2001). The challenge of complexity in health care. BMJ, 323(7313), 625–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheier, M. F., & Carver, C. S. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4(3), 219–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanley, C. (2007). Management of change for nurses: Lessons from the discipline of organizational studies. Journal of Nursing Management, 15(5), 538–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spear, M. (2016). How to facilitate change. Plastic Surgical Nursing, 36(2), 58–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhaeghe, R., Vlerick, P., Gemmel, P., Maele, G. V., & Backer, G. D. (2006). Impact of recurrent changes in the work environment on nurses’ psychological Well-being and sickness absence. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 56(6), 646–656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wanberg, C. R., & Banas, J. T. (2000). Predictors and outcomes of openness to changes in a reorganizing workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(1), 132–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weick, K. E., & Quinn, R. E. (1999). Organizational change and development. Annual Review of Psychology, 50(1), 361–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yukl, G. A., & Becker, W. S. (2006). Effective empowerment in organizations. Organization Management Journal, 3(3), 210–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics and Management “M. Fanno”, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Simona Leonelli

  2. AUSL Pescara, “Santo Spirito” Hospital, Pescara, Italy

    Emanuele Primavera

Authors
  1. Simona Leonelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Emanuele Primavera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simona Leonelli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA, USA

    Satinder K. Dhiman  & Joan F. Marques  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Leonelli, S., Primavera, E. (2022). Everything Gonna Be Alright: Antecedents to Nurses’ Change Adaptability in the COVID-19 Era. In: K. Dhiman, S., F. Marques, J. (eds) Leadership After COVID-19. Future of Business and Finance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84867-5_20

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation