Change Management Research Research Articles

Dewey’s Broad Account of Habit and its Relevance for Change Management: A Conceptual Clarification with Pragmatic Illustrations

ABSTRACT The narrow view of habits predominant within behavioural approaches to change management conceptualizes them as passive transition points between stimuli and responses. John Dewey’s broad view of habit, by contrast, conceptualizes habits as the very basis for how individuals interact with their environments, one another, and themselves. We highlight the renewed relevance of Dewey’s conceptualization of habit by clarifying it as (1) a function between individuals and environments; (2) a custom produced within social settings; (3) a process intertwined with inquiries and impulses. We illustrate each of these characteristics through the example of a French factory, within which we claim that the narrow view prevails, and a Danish IT company, within which we claim the presence of a broader view. We proceed to discuss consequences of the broad view to change management research. MAD statement This paper Make a Difference (MAD) by pointing to the relevance of looking at habit in understanding the microdynamics of change. Rather than understanding habit in a narrow sense as automatic behaviour triggers by environmental clues, the paper presents a broad conceptions of habit that understands habit as a social and materially disposition that both make change recipients resist and receptive towards change. This conception of habit is based on the work of the pragmatist philosophy and psychology of John Dewey, applied to two empirical cases and discussed in light of change management literature

Towards a Micro-Foundation of Organizational Change: Conceptual Requirements for a Micro-Macro Framework of Change

The emerging field of micro-foundations calls for frameworks that explicitly consider interdependencies between the organisational micro and macro levels. Research in change management is also developing such frameworks but few approaches highlight the mutual interdependencies between the organisational macro and micro levels. Analysing these interdependencies suggests that the implementation of changes on the micro level often have both good and bad unintended effects on the firm's output. We present ideas for scholars to develop more profound micro-macro models for a better understanding of the micro-macro interdependencies during organisational change.

Comprehensive assessment of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 global climate models using observed temperature and precipitation over mainland Southeast Asia

In this study, the performances of 31 global climate models (GCMs) from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) were evaluated using observed temperature and precipitation data sets for mainland Southeast Asia (MSA). In addition, the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution model (TOPSIS), which is an effective multi‐objective decision method and has been widely applied in systems engineering, was used to comprehensively evaluate the GCMs on a regional scale. The meteorological variables employed included monthly mean, maximum, and minimum air temperature series and annual/seasonal precipitation during the period 1961–2004. Results showed the overall C i values ranged from 0.56 to 0.80. Overall, ACCESS1.0, HadGEM2‐A, HadGEM2‐CC, and CESM1 (BGC) performed better than the other models with respect to air temperature and precipitation over MSA. For meteorological variables, the C i of extreme temperature by GCMs was 0.65 and higher than mean temperature at 0.61. The performance of GCMs in simulating precipitation during wet season was superior to that for annual and dry season precipitation. With respect to evaluation indicators, most of the GCMs assessed in this study failed to capture observed mean annual air temperature and annual precipitation (they underestimated annual air temperature and overestimated mean annual precipitation). When evaluating the performance of the GCMs with respect to reproducing individual climatic variables, the use of various statistical evaluation criteria provided inconsistent results. These results demonstrate the need to consider the influence of different statistical eigenvalues and to employ multiple indicators when possible to enable a comprehensive evaluation of GCMs. The results of this study provide useful information for climate change, water resource, and agricultural management research in MSA.

Change management overlooked: physician perspectives on EHR implementation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain understanding into the human factors which might impede the change process. Change is inevitable in contemporary organizations and particularly within the healthcare field with respect to information technology (IT). Regardless of the amount of literature surrounding change management process organizational leaders will often ignore the human factors associated with the introduction of new IT.Design/methodology/approachThis study sought to examine physician resistance surrounding the Electronic health record (EHR) change process through the lens of each of these three aspects of the Bovey and Hede (2001a) model through semi-structured interviews with physicians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with physicians from hospitals within the Midwest.FindingsThe findings suggest that physicians have been impacted by the EHR change management system within their hospitals. Though each of the participants experienced different issues; it was clear from the data the change to an EHR system was disruptive to their day-to-day routines and caused various challenges. EHR change management research demonstrates physicians are resisting the change despite recognizing its potential benefits.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the change management literature by examining how physician resistance can have a negative impact on healthcare organizations during a precipitous technology change. The study also provides a unique understanding of how technology resistance can disrupt an organizational change process.

Determinants of employee trust during organisational change in higher institutions

PurposeThe researchers in this study aim to understand the impact of a recent merger between two high performing institutions, on employee trust and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively test the relationships between communication initiatives, human resource management initiatives, and cultural congruence and their impact on employee trust during organisational change.Design/methodology/approachTo empirically validate these hypothesised relationships, 139 employees of the organisation were surveyed; the data were analysed using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe results indicate that HR planning and successful communication by the organisation are vital if a merger is to achieve the gains envisioned at its inception.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research may explore longitudinal study to establish time of how employee trust are affected from the early merger announcement stage, during the merger-related activities and most importantly the post-merger period. The researchers are of the opinion, that understanding the impacts of change and how employee trust is affected during change is vital. The scope of this study permitted only three independent variables, consideration should be given for further research to explore the influence other activities may have on trust such as policy, government restraint, governance and internationalisation.Practical implicationsThese results further establish the need for educational and commercial organisations to focus on internal and external relationship management and on communication strategies that can affect employees before, during and after a merger.Social implicationsUnderstanding factors that will influence employee vulnerability is important for any organisation as it is possibly the first step to understanding what planning needs to take place to foster change and consider contingencies pre, during and post-merger related change. Considerable thought and planning should be given to the re building of culture and regaining of lost trust post-merger.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical research that quantitatively test the relationships between communication initiatives, human resource initiatives, cultural congruence and their impact on employee trust during organisational change in higher academic institution. This particular study has further add value to change management research, particularly from New Zealand perspective where there is little literature on the current Institute of Technology and Polytechnic sector merger.

The mediating effects of ego-resilience in the relationship between organizational support and resistance to change

PurposeThis study drew upon conservation of resources and organizational support theory to develop a deeper understanding of the antecedents of affective and behavioral reactions to change processes. The purpose of this paper is to construct a theoretical framework based on previous findings of change management research to suggest that the relationship between organizational support and resistance to change is mediated by ego-resilience. This framework was then validated empirically.Design/methodology/approachTo test this model, the mediation relationship was examined using regression analysis with bootstrapping. The sample consisted of 323 employees from private and public organizations.FindingsThe results confirmed that the relationship between organizational support and affective and behavioral reactions to imposed change is mediated by ego-resilience. The theoretical model was thus validated for use in future research.Research limitations/implicationsThis study’s findings have implications for organizations regarding how managers guide their employees through change processes. The research’s limitations arise from the use of convenience non-probability sampling and cross-sectional, self-reported data, which only allow for a tentative generalizability of the results.Originality/valueThe findings show that organizational change processes are affected by factors on both the individual (i.e. ego-resilience) and organizational level (i.e. organizational support). This study’s results thus provide empirical support for the conclusion that ego-resilience mediates the indirect relationship between organizational support and employees’ resistance to change.

Leading Change in Action: Reorganizing an Academic Library Department Using Kotter’s Eight Stage Change Model

This article presents a management case study of a project to reorganize the Resource Sharing and Access Services department in the main library at the University of Maryland in 2015. The case study uses John Kotter’s eight-stage change process, articulated in his 1996 book, Leading Change, as the framework for successfully managing a complex change of this type. The article explains the ways in which Kotter’s model was adapted for the reorganization process, as well as the limitations of the model for the academic library environment in general and the department reorganization in particular. It concludes by presenting suggestions for further research in change management in library settings.

Leading Change in Action: Reorganizing an Academic Library Department Using Kotter’s Eight Stage Change Model

This article presents a management case study of a project to reorganize the Resource Sharing and Access Services department in the main library at the University of Maryland in 2015. The case study uses John Kotter’s eight-stage change process, articulated in his 1996 book, Leading Change, as the framework for successfully managing a complex change of this type. The article explains the ways in which Kotter’s model was adapted for the reorganization process, as well as the limitations of the model for the academic library environment in general and the department reorganization in particular. It concludes by presenting suggestions for further research in change management in library settings.

WPŁYW KAPITAŁU SPOŁECZNEGO LIDERÓW NA SKUTECZNOŚĆ WDRAŻANIA ZMIAN

The article, based on empirical research in one of the production and service companies acting in energy industry, develops the introductory implications on how social capital of change leaders is linked to the effectiveness of change implementation. Using organisational network analysis the author examines influence of social capital of change leaders in the area of real work flow during change implementation and open communication flow on change effectiveness. One finds that ties among change leaders in those two dimensions have distinct change effectiveness effects. In broaden aspect, findings have major implications on change management research and imply further research in this matter to be conducted by the author

Change Management in Nonprofit Organisationen: Das Beispiel von Kindertageseinrichtungen auf dem Weg zur Inklusion

Die Unternehmung , Seite 165 - 182

Health Information Technology and Quality Management

Even in healthcare and health information technology change will not vanish or disperse. Technology, civilization, and creative thought will drive this force increasingly forward. Health care managers will continue being judged on their ability to efficiently and effectively manage (Patton & James, 2000). The arena of Health Services Research (HSR) is trusted on by judgment deciders and the public is the principal basis of data on how thriving health systems are meeting this task (Steinwachs & Hughes, 2008). The goal of HSR is to deliver material that will ultimately lead to advances in the health of the community. HSR evaluation of quality of care has demonstrated it is an unspecified science and multifaceted, even though its description is comparatively simple (Steinwachs & Hughes, 2008). This article is to investigate the background, controversies, and problems surrounding Health Information Technology (HIT) Change and Quality Management including an overview of current changes and benefits of implementation. This will be coupled with solutions and recommendations, further research, and conclusion. This will enhance the field of research in leadership, change management, quality management, and health care.

Wickedness will not wait: climate change and public management research

This paper shows that climate change is a ‘wicked’ problem, which presents multiple challenges for public management. These challenges are already with us, but are likely to increase in the short and medium terms, possibly very rapidly. Academic public management research appears to have been slow to address these issues. Yet potentially there are several strong points of contact between climate change issues and current public management research themes. This will, however, require interdisciplinary and international approaches.

Held back and pushed forward: leading change in a complex public sector environment

Purpose– Public organizations often need to implement organizational change. Several authors have argued that the specific characteristics of public organizations make the implementation of organizational change in public organizations distinct or even more difficult. However, this issue has received little empirical investigation in both public management and change management research. Public organizations typically operate in an environment characterized by checks and balances, shared power, divergent interests and the political primate. The purpose of this paper is to advance knowledge about how the implementation of change and its leadership is affected by the complex environment in which public organizations operate.Design/methodology/approach– A case study approach is adopted. A merger of three government departments in a Dutch city is selected as a case. This merger took place in an environment that became increasingly complex as the implementation process advanced. The main method of data collection was interviewing the managers that were involved in the organizational change. In all, 23 interviews were conducted and fully transcribed. The interviews were then coded using Atlas.ti software.Findings– The analysis indicates that a high degree of environmental complexity forces public organizations to adopt a planned, top-down approach to change, while the effectiveness of such an approach to change is simultaneously limited by a complex environment. In addition, typical change leadership activities, such as defining the need for change, role modeling and motivating employees to implement the change, are not sufficient to implement change in a complex environment. In order to overcome environmental dependencies and maintain momentum in the change process, public managers must engage in more externally oriented leadership activities.Originality/value– The paper provides empirical evidence about the relevant and rapidly growing research topic of organizational change in public organizations. The paper concludes with hypotheses that can be tested in follow-up research, and as such provides a starting point for future research concerning change management in public organizations.

Corporate Governance in the Public Sector

From that exploration of current literature, an analysis of change management approaches and research findings in the area of organizational studies will be used to support the premise that corporate governance utilizing the “board of directors” model is more successful when viewed as a framework for positive organizational change in the public sector. Examination of aspects associated with the change process is therefore considered by many academics and practitioners of organizational change management to give a full account of the purpose, scope, and success of organizational change. Best practices processes that emerge from this research will benefit the accepting organization with ways to view the best and most appropriate approach to their change management initiatives. Since the 1990’s the role of corporate governance has been discussed as a remedy for the lack of accountability and probity in public sector organizations. Corporate governance is based on the “board of directors” model, and reflects a successful private sector management style. Although some elements of corporate governance can be transferred to the public sector, a lot of changes and modifications must be done to this concept if it is to be implemented successfully into public sector organizations. Public sector corporate governance is distinguished from the private sector by its need for significant objective diversity and management constructs. Also, the lack of a significant body of research regarding public sector corporate governance makes it distinct from the private sector.

Project Based Internationalization as a Driving Force for Change Management in Higher Education Institutions in Latvia

This research consists of theoretical and empirical research in internationalization, change management and project management. From theoretical research questions are proposed regarding internationalization factors in Latvia. This empirical research confirms that currently internationalization in Latvian Higher Education institutions is mainly project based and brings change with it. As the result of (this) research the most important factors of internationalization in Latvia are determined. It was concluded that the process of internationalization in the Higher Education of Latvia is based on developmental change and it is a driving force for changes in the system.

Regulative, Normative, and Cognitive Elements of Organizations: Implications for Managing Change

Drawing support from current and seminal work on institutional theory, this paper explores the role of three elementsinvolved in the management of change - regulative, normative, and cognitive. While organizational changetraditionally deals with challenges associated with changing technologies, structures, and employee abilities,effective change also depends on the values and behavioral reasoning that originate in the institutional context –whether people have to change, ought to change, or want to change. A conceptual model reflecting the interplay ofthese systems on organizational change is presented, and implications for change management research and practiceare extended.

Progress in Evidence

In the “Effects of Change Interventions: What Kind of Evidence Do We Really Have?” Barends, Janssen, ten Have, and ten Have make several assertions about the state of organizational change management (OCM) research. Doing so, they alert us to the essence of a previously acknowledged problem in change research—that measuring change interventions is difficult (see Woodman, Bingham, & Yuan, 2008) and is fraught with challenges and constraints when it is done anyway (see Schwarz, 2012). In a similar vein, Woodman and Wayne (1985) highlight the rich history of debate on the lack of rigor and methodological dilemmas in evaluation research, which Burke (2011) explicitly concedes as often based on misleading assumptions about its measurement. Clearly, the state of OCM scholarly research is widely debated and problematized. Although we agree that it is important to evaluate critically the OCM field in terms of progress and evidence, we assert that Barends et al.’s argument is based on several errors, three of which stand out. They (a) adopt a weak categorization of progress, (b) present a narrowed range of what is evidence, and (c) unduly filter their perspective on OCM research. Our commentary addresses each of these errors. In focusing on how we research, the Barends et al. thesis misses a fundamental issue—of recognizing what is progress in OCM research. Progress is a multifaceted entity, and as Pollard (1968) pointed out, although it is portrayed as a belief “that things will in some sense get better in the future . . .it has never been limited to this simple idea of melioration” (p. 9). Yet it is precisely this variation that Barends et al. overlook in making their argument. They do so by adopting a narrow and isolating account of change assessment. In this context, and as a postscript to the article’s conclusions, progress in assessing OCM research and evaluations of how well OCM practices work are two separate issues (which they conflate in their argument).

The strengths and weaknesses of the transformational change management process in the South African department of correctional services: A critical analysis

Change management research has become a critical focus area for change scholars because of the low success rate in change implementation. This exposition of how the transformational change process has been managed at the Department of Correctional Service was meant to show managers, particularly in the said department, that unless managers pay serious attention to certain critical aspects which must form part of the change management process, no real change would be attained. This becomes critical if one considers that there is still a long way to go in the process of transformation to the philosophy of rehbilitation, namely transforming correctional centres to effective institutions of offender rehabilitation. There is currently limited literature on organisational change approaches that are people-oriented. The available literature seems to focus more on the technical aspects (hard issues such as structures, systems and practices) in terms of change management at the expense of people issues (soft issues such as the human factors). It has been argued that the neglect of people issues in the management of organisational change processes is responsible for the high failure rate in change implementation. For purposes of contextualising transformational change management within the setting of the Department of Correctional Services, an extensive literature study was undertaken. This was followed by an empirical analysis of data collected through survey questionnaires from correctional officials and offenders respectively. The research established that there were strong and weak points in the DCS transformational change management process from the perspective of both research participants.

Internal communication for change: a complex challenge

Internal communication is a vital component in any change process and a major part of change management. This paper presents a qualitative study of a large industrial company and its change project. The paper contributes to our understanding of communication in change management projects with its description and analysis of the construction of project communication at this company as well as of the managers’ and other employees’ perception of it. The research emphasises that communication is a pivotal part of large change management projects while pointing to its complexity and many pitfalls. Thus, the paper advances the empirical and practical change management research.

Effects of Change Interventions

Despite the popularity of organizational change management, the question arises whether its prescriptions are based on solid and convergent evidence. To answer this question, a systematic review was conducted of organizational change management research published in scholarly journals during the past 30 years. The databases ABI/INFORM, Business Source Premier, ERIC, and PsycINFO were searched for relevant studies. A total of 563 studies met the review’s criteria. Assessment shows a predominance of one-shot studies with a low internal validity. Replication studies are rare. Findings suggest that scholars and practitioners should be sceptical regarding the body of research results in the field of organizational change management published to date. Prescriptions are offered for researchers, editors, and educators to develop a more solid body of evidence on organizational change management.