Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of staff/employee (i.e. learning and teaching, curriculum support and administrative staff) perceptions, anxieties and worries about early merger change in the UK further education (FE) sector.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 128 out of 562 employees to examine perceptions of psychological contract (post-merger announcement) on an FE college in England. Paired t-tests were used to analyse quantitative data. Additionally, a content analysis of open-ended questions was incorporated as part of a combined methods survey evaluation approach for discussion and triangulation purposes.FindingsQuantitative results from t-tests showed there had been a decrease in the perception of fulfilled obligations in nine of the ten areas of the psychological contract. Qualitative results indicated that communications, job security and uncertainty were common negative outcomes post-merger announcement. Implications for education managers from the case study include: a need for improved organizational communication; developing trust and mentorship for greater employee support, as well as; promoting further employee training and new opportunities for teamwork.Research limitations/implicationsPsychological contract theories for evaluating organizational change are useful given the recent interest in sharing public services and institutional mergers in the UK. This research demonstrates the benefits of using psychological contract, as well as how to apply such an evaluation for understanding staff concerns.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates a usable (psychological contract) survey evaluation approach for studying the impact of early merger change on staff in the FE, or higher education sectors in the UK (or elsewhere).
Highlights
This article employs a survey-based evaluation approach using psychological contract to better understand staff/ employees anxieties and reactions to merger and acquisition (M&A)i related organizational change (Brockner et al, 1992; Seo and Hill, 2005)
This article contributes to the literature by discussing case-study findings and offering implications for managers, principals, or heads of department dealing with organizational change in the further education (FE) education environments, as well as the wider public sector
Our proposition 1 (P1) is based on this theoretical logic, and we suggest that in the face of uncertainty and change, most FE staff will automatically perceive a sense of short term breach/gap, and that long standing psychological contract obligations are no longer being fulfilled
Summary
This article employs a survey-based evaluation approach using psychological contract to better understand staff/ employees anxieties and reactions to merger and acquisition (M&A)i related organizational change (Brockner et al, 1992; Seo and Hill, 2005). Mergers and acquisitions in the UK public and education sectors have increased dramatically in recent years (Searle and Ball, 2004; CIPD, 2007; Davies, 2011) with greater financial and organizational pressures to consolidate and share services (Davies, 2011). As we will see, many mergers crucially fail to get employees on board during the early stages of the change process. In 2016, with the advent of academies and the prospect of further changes in secondary and tertiary education, merger research is arguably more topical than ever
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