Common age stereotypes suggest that older employees are more resistant to change. Contrary to this stereotype, we found age to be negatively related to resistance to change in a sample of 2,981 employees from diverse companies. Furthermore, tenure and occupational status (blue collar or white collar) were identified as prominent boundary conditions for the age/resistance-to-change relationship. Finally, we were also able to establish resistance-to-change traits as a relevant mediator in the age/job performance relationship. Our empirical analyses, applying structural equation modeling, showed age to be indirectly related to three distinct measures of job performance via the intermediation of resistance to change.
Language
English
Keywords
Demographic change
age
tenure
resistance to change
job performance
structural equation modeling
moderated mediation
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Book title
Dare to Care: Passion & Compassion in Management Practice & Research
Publisher
The Academy of Management
Publisher place
New York
Volume
Paper Session 1420
Event Title
70th Academy of Management Annual Meeting (AOM) 2010 "Dare to Care"