The Role of Supervisor Support and Change Information in Determining Behavioral Attitudes Toward Change in an Academic Setting: Empirical Validation of Intra-Organizational Dynamics Using IPMA Analysis

In today’s dynamic academic environment, successful intra-organizational change is not only important but necessary to confront evolving educational needs and technological advancements. The institutions with systemic strategies that also create a supportive environment allow staff to fight through transitions as they persist for the long term and spur innovation. Using social exchange theory, this study investigates how the resources (supervisor support and change information) provided by the institution will influence the academic staff to adopt a positive behavioral attitude toward change. The study employed a survey methodology to gather data from teaching faculty ( n = 403) in Telangana, which Smart-PLS version 4.0 then analyzed. Results indicate that supervisor support (SS) influenced employees’ behavioral attitudes toward change and that change information (CI) had no direct effects. However, the effect of change information is fully mediated by affective and cognitive attitudes and partially mediated by supervisor support and behavior. Furthermore, Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) analysis reveals that change information, the most effective construct for positive behavioral attitudes, receives the least importance in this study context. Likewise, cognitive attitude is the most significant and comparatively effective construct. Therefore, the results of the investigation strongly indicate that supervisory assistance and information regarding change are crucial for fostering positive behavioral attitudes among employees during the transition. Management should also focus their efforts on training, support, and transparent communication to more easily identify potential avenues for exploration. Engaging organizational psychologists is crucial for managing staff emotions and promoting intra-organizational change in a more positive mindset.