From adaptation to transformation: how to stimulate leaders’ change-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors in project-based temporary organizations

Purpose Project-based temporary organizations, as an efficient organizational form for the execution of complex and innovative tasks, encounter challenges in fostering the effectiveness of inter-organizational cooperation within their temporary, uncertain, and dynamic nature. Although change-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors are recognized for promoting organizational relationships and performance in changing contexts, research in temporary organizational settings remains sparse. This study diverges from the majority concentrating on change-oriented behaviors on intra-organizational leader-employee relations and behaviors, aiming to propose a dynamic adaptive capacity of organizational leaders and explore how leadership capabilities and organizational climate shape their change-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors at inter-organizational level. Design/methodology/approach Developing a person-organization fit model tailored for complex and dynamic organizational settings, using survey data from 225 leaders with project cooperative experience and structural equation modeling for empirical analysis. Findings This study reveals the direct positive influences of organizational leaders’ dynamic adaptive capacity on their changed-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors. And, change self-efficacy, as a mediating psychological trait, enhances the positive relation between dynamic adaptive capacity and changed-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors. The findings also highlight person-organization interactions, where organizational justice, acting as a situational and moderating factor, has a positive yet disruptive effect on the relationship between dynamic adaptive capacity, change self-efficacy, and changed-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors. Originality/value This research enriches the mechanisms linking dynamic managerial capability in organizational leadership to citizenship behaviors at the micro-level, providing valuable insights for the management and development of temporary cross-organizational cooperation.