What constitutes bottom-up change success? An integrative review and a meta-analysis of the effects of human and social capital on endorsement and implementation

Change agents at various organizational levels engage in bottom-up change, which refers to upward, self-initiated, and communicative behaviors intended to improve their unit or the organization. Although these behaviors share core characteristics, research has been fragmented across the micro (e.g., voice and creativity), meso (e.g., issue-selling and whistleblowing), and macro (e.g., institutional entrepreneurship) communities. This fragmentation has led to inconsistent conceptualizations and theoretical confusion regarding what truly matters to bottom-up change success. To address these issues, we synthesize the disparate research traditions to identify key predictors of bottom-up change success, specifically distinguishing two types of success: endorsement (positive attitudes toward bottom-up change) and implementation (the realization of bottom-up change). We then theorize the relative importance of change agents’ human capital and social capital in predicting success in bottom-up change. Meta-analytic evidence from 105 studies (N = 33,186) reveals that although both human capital and social capital predict endorsement, social capital emerges as the dominant driver of implementation. Additionally, traditional indicators of human capital and social capital (i.e., rank, education, and work experience) are less predictive of endorsement and implementation than human or social capital themselves. By integrating previously fragmented literatures, we develop a comprehensive framework to guide future organizational research on bottom-up change success.