Gender and change drivers: an exploratory study

Abstract

PurposeChange drivers are events, activities, or behaviors that facilitate the individual adoption of change initiatives and the implementation of organizational change. The purpose of this paper is an exploratory study of whether gender differences exist for change drivers.Design/methodology/approachThis paper involves a three‐year study of an organizational change in the banking industry, and uses survey and interview data.FindingsData show that the mean perceived significance of change drivers to the understanding and adoption of change initiatives by male and female employees is similar and does not vary at a statistically significant level. Statistically significant gender differences do exist in terms of the relationship between change drivers and employees' reported individual adoption of change initiatives. Qualitative data from the interviews support those quantitative findings, showing gender differences in how change drivers are perceived; differences in change‐related vision, leadership, communication and positive outcomes as drivers are discussed.Research limitations/implicationsThis is an exploratory study and needs to be replicated with other organizational changes in a variety of industries with varied employee demographics and differences in change leadership gender.Practical implicationsChange drivers are a form of resource allocation. Better understanding of gender differences in terms of the perception of and significance of change drivers to individual employees' understanding and adoption of change initiatives can result in more effective allocation of resources by change leaders.Originality/valueVery limited prior research explores gender or other demographic differences for change drivers. This research provides an empirical study of gender and change drivers and extends prior research on change drivers and the change process.