Implications For Change Management Research Articles

Intelligent finance and change management implications

Change management is the embodiment of an enterprise’s core competence. It provides competitive differentiation and effectively adapts to the ever-changing world. This paper explores the implications of intelligent finance on change management and provides insights into how organizations can effectively manage change to achieve the desired outcomes. The study examines the case of Ping An (Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.), a leading insurance company in China that has successfully implemented intelligent finance and change management strategies. The paper begins with a literature review that provides an overview of the concept of intelligent finance, the relevance of change management in the context of intelligent finance, models, and frameworks for intelligent finance, and approaches to change management. The study then presents a case analysis of Ping An, including descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, regression analysis, and qualitative findings. The paper concludes with implications for practice and theory, contributions of the study, and recommendations for future research. Overall, this paper contributes to the growing literature on intelligent finance and change management and provides practical insights for organizations seeking to adopt intelligent finance.

Virtual Care in Canada as of the Sixth Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Finding the Right Balance.

Virtual care has stabilized at about one-third of visits as the sixth wave of the pandemic in Canada ebbs from about twice that at the peak of the first wave but is up more than tenfold from pre-pandemic levels. This has created huge changes and challenges, which the author reviews in an attempt to make workable policy recommendations and find a balance among competing priorities. Falk revisits recommendations from his Health Canada report (Falk 2021), updating and expanding on recommendations concerning remuneration, licensure, equity and access. He introduces newly available data on specialty and primary care use and discusses the practical implications for change management and system development. He expands his recommendations for aggressive regulatory changes and standards for digital health and virtual care.

Changing entrepreneurial attitudes for mitigating the global pandemic\u2019s social drama

This paper investigates international experiences and perspectives on how entrepreneurs can improve management practices while minimizing the COVID-19 pandemic’s social drama. The paper probes how companies deal with the myriad challenges they face amid the unfolding pandemic and how these processes’ economic and cultural dimensions may exert an enduring effect. A novel dataset analyses how entrepreneurs manage the change of management processes in a sample of ten countries. Three economic impacts on entrepreneurs caused by the pandemic were observed: (1) a deficit as a result of social distancing reduced due to the growth of Internet retailing; (2) a deficit resulting from a fall in demand decreased due to innovations that mitigate this demand-side change; (3) a social crisis in the labour market due to social distance and relocating many employees to remote working practices. In countries with the most considerable number of cases of COVID-19, it is recommended that attitudes towards entrepreneurial risk be raised. In countries with the vastest number of fatal cases per 100,000 people, implications for change management in entrepreneurship are an increase in Internet retailing level, a reduction in entrepreneurial fear of failure, and an increase in entrepreneurial risk awareness. Besides, an anonymous sociological survey among companies’ directors and managers in Russia on management initiatives taken on between late 2020–early 2021 shows that companies maintain a 60.21% readiness for such systemic challenges while their readiness for change increased under the influence of the pandemic. The contribution to the literature of this article lies in rethinking the COVID-19 crisis from the standpoint of social drama, which made it possible to clarify the cause-and-effect relationships of change management in entrepreneurship. For the first time, the paper proposes systemic—socio-economic recommendations for improving the practice of change management against the background of such a social drama.

A case study of polypharmacy management in nine European countries: Implications for change management and implementation.

BackgroundMultimorbidity and its associated polypharmacy contribute to an increase in adverse drug events, hospitalizations, and healthcare spending. This study aimed to address: what exists regarding polypharmacy management in the European Union (EU); why programs were, or were not, developed; and, how identified initiatives were developed, implemented, and sustained.MethodsChange management principles (Kotter) and normalization process theory (NPT) informed data collection and analysis. Nine case studies were conducted in eight EU countries: Germany (Lower Saxony), Greece, Italy (Campania), Poland, Portugal, Spain (Catalonia), Sweden (Uppsala), and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland and Scotland). The workflow included a review of country/region specific polypharmacy policies, key informant interviews with stakeholders involved in policy development and implementation and, focus groups of clinicians and managers. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis of individual cases and framework analysis across cases.ResultsPolypharmacy initiatives were identified in five regions (Catalonia, Lower Saxony, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Uppsala) and included all care settings. There was agreement, even in cases without initiatives, that polypharmacy is a significant issue to address. Common themes regarding the development and implementation of polypharmacy management initiatives were: locally adapted solutions, organizational culture supporting innovation and teamwork, adequate workforce training, multidisciplinary teams, changes in workflow, redefinition of roles and responsibilities of professionals, policies and legislation supporting the initiative, and data management and information and communication systems to assist development and implementation. Depending on the setting, these were considered either facilitators or barriers to implementation.ConclusionWithin the studied EU countries, polypharmacy management was not widely addressed. These results highlight the importance of change management and theory-based implementation strategies, and provide examples of polypharmacy management initiatives that can assist managers and policymakers in developing new programs or scaling up existing ones, particularly in places currently lacking such initiatives.

Leadership style and the process of organizational change

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify processes which may contribute to followers’ positive reactions to change. By focusing on the relationship between change antecedents and explicit reactions, the authors investigate the direct and indirect relationships between leadership styles (transformational and transactional) and followers’ appraisal of change through manager engagement.Design/methodology/approach– Using data from a longitudinal survey among 351 followers in two Danish organizations, the study tracked the planned implementation of team organization at two different times. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling.Findings– Transformational and transactional leadership styles were positively related to the engagement of managers. Managers’ engagement was associated with followers’ appraisal of change. The two leadership styles also had a direct, long-term effect on followers’ change appraisal; positive for transformational leadership and negative for transactional leadership.Practical implications– The results have potential implications for change management, as followers’ change appraisal may be improved by developing managers’ leadership style and engagement.Originality/value– This is the first study to provide longitudinal evidence of the direct and indirect effects of leadership styles on followers’ change appraisal.

Using a stock assessment framework to examine circle hooks: exploring changes in catchability and implications for management

A presumed conservation benefit of circle hooks is that they reduce catchability (q) and therefore bycatch of non-target species. While these changes may benefit a fish stock, they are difficult to incorporate in a stock assessment context, particularly for models that rely on fishery-dependent data, because few experiments exist that quantify the effects of circle hooks for a given species over appropriately large spatial scales. Consequently, to develop management advice, it may be necessary to model assumed changes in q within the adopted stock assessment model framework. Here we present a case study of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus lowe, 1839), a highly migratory species managed by the international commission for the conservation of atlantic tunas (iccat), and explore the management implications of changes in q within a multi-fleet, age-structured assessment context. This study demonstrates that changes in q on the order of ±30% are sufficient to cause notable differences in the magnitude of common management reference points estimated by stock assessment models. Relative to a base model that assumed a constant q, models that incorporated a theoretical reduction in q produced higher estimates of spawning stock biomass and maximum sustainable yield, and lower estimates of fishing mortality while a theoretical increase in q had the opposite effect. The magnitude of the change was dependent on the number of fisheries affected. We conclude that carefully designed studies are essential to quantify the effects of a proposed gear change and to inform the appropriate parameterization of stock assessment models.

Learning While Doing in the Human Services: Becoming a Learning Organization Through Organizational Change

Making mistakes during organizational change is surprisingly easy despite extensive “lesson learning” in the professional change management literature. Human services leaders overseeing organizational changes such as integrating a new model or evidence-based practice must prepare to monitor and adjust their course. The “learning while doing” approach relies on data and on adjusting the implementation plan and the underlying ways of doing business. This article describes one agency's successful large-scale administrative, program, and practice change that resulted in better outcomes, stronger infrastructure as a learning organization, and a set of lessons with implications for change management in child welfare and other human services organizations.

Not‐so‐splendid isolation: modeling climate‐mediated range collapse of a montane mammalOchotonaprinceps across numerous ecoregions

We modeled current and future distribution of suitable habitat for the talus‐obligate montane mammalOchotona princeps(American pika) across the western USA under increases in temperature associated with contemporary climate change, to: a) compare forecasts using only climate variables vs using those plus habitat considerations; b) identify possible patterns of range collapse (center vs margins, and large‐ vs small‐sized patches); and c) compare conservation and management implications of changes at two taxonomic resolutions, and using binned‐ vs binary‐probability maps. We used MaxEnt to analyze relationships between occurrence records and climatic variables to develop a bioclimatic‐envelope model, which we refined by masking with a deductive appropriate‐habitat filter based on suitable land‐cover types. We used this final species‐distribution model to predict distribution of suitable habitat under range‐wide temperature increases from 1 to 7°C, in 1°C increments; we also compared these results to distribution under IPCC‐forecasted climates for 2050 and 2080. Though all currently recognized lineages and traditionally defined subspecies were predicted to lose increasing amounts of habitat as temperatures rose, the most‐dramatic range losses were predicted to occur among traditional subspecies. Nineteen of the 31 traditional US pika subspecies were predicted to lose > 98% of their suitable habitat under a 7˚C increase in the mean temperature of the warmest quarter of the year, and lineages were predicted to lose 88 95% of suitable habitat. Under a 4˚C increase, traditional subspecies averaged a predicted 73% (range = 44–99%) reduction. The appropriate‐habitat filter removed 40–6% of the predicted climatically suitable pixels, in a stepped and monotonically decreasing fashion as predicted temperatures rose. Predicted range collapse proceeded until only populations in island‐biogeographic ‘mainlands’ remained, which were not in the geographic range center. We used this model system to illustrate possible distributional shifts under stepped changes in biologically relevant aspects of climate, importance of land cover and taxonomic level in species‐distribution forecasts, and impact of using a single threshold vs multiple categories of persistence probability in predicted range maps; we encourage additional research to further investigate the generality of these patterns.

Implementing innovative flexible work practices in Nigerian local firms: Implications for management of change in less‐developed countries

There is an increasing interest in Africa as a potential sourcing location and a target for foreign direct investment (FDI). However, because of the uniqueness of the African context, there is a need to investigate whether management theories that have worked effectively in organizations in developed countries may be applicable within the African context. In this study, using a multiple case study approach, we investigated change implications and the effectiveness of implementing flexible work practices in local firms in Nigeria. Our results revealed that employees in local firms in Nigeria were compliant with the introduction of the practices, despite their negative perceptions about the potential impact of implementing the change and the ‘management of change’ process. Our study revealed that social, cultural, and religious factors, along with the value systems of the Nigerian context played a major role in influencing employees’ reaction to the successful implementation of the flexible work practices. The implications of the study for theory and practice within the broader African context are discussed.

Demographics, Individual Value Structures, and Diversity Attitudes in the United Kingdom

This study explores relationships between race, gender, values-types (openness to change, self-transcendence, conservation and self-enhancement) and diversity attitudes (universal-diverse orientation) in a sample of 153 respondents from the United Kingdom. UDO consists of three attitudinal components: realistic appreciation (cognition), comfort with difference (feeling), and diversity of contact (behavior). All predictors related significantly with universal-diverse orientation (UDO) attitudes in the expected direction. Women and non-white people more open to change and motivated to transcend selfish concerns and promote the welfare of others (self-transcendence), had more positive attitudes. People who held conservative values and were motivated to pursue their own success and dominate others (self-enhancers) had less positive attitudes. Self-transcendence and race interacted to predict UDO overall, realistic appreciation and diversity of contact such that higher scores on self-transcendence for whites led to more positive attitudes but not for nonwhites, whose scores on UDO were consistent and positive. Gender interacted with self-transcendence to predict realistic appreciation such that higher scores on self-transcendence led to more positive appreciation of difference for men – the reverse was true for women. Self-enhancement and self-transcendence were the two value-types found to relate to all subcomponents of UDO. Diversity of contact (the behavioral component) related to all predictors but gender. The results of this study have implications for change management in organizations especially as they relate to the provision of training to manage and change peoples' attitudes.

Improved methods for task estimation and project tracking

Among the most arduous aspects of project management are those of task estimation, coupled with task execution and tracking. In this paper, new methods for task estimation and tracking are discussed. Change management, of course, is driven by the accuracy of project tracking. The topics of task estimation and Earned Value Analysis (EVA) are investigated for tighter integration and validity. EVA is well accepted as a technique for tracking of projects during execution. Even so, some shortcomings are found and improvements are proposed. A Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)-based probabilistic approach to estimation and tracking is presented in this paper that will provide probabilities of on-time as well as within-budget completion, taking into consideration the critical path. The implications for change management are discussed.

The urbanization of wildlife management: Social science, conflict, and decision making

Increasing urbanization of rural landscapes has created new challenges for wildlife management. In addition to changes in the physical landscape, urbanization has also produced changes in the socio-cultural landscape. The greater distancing from direct interaction with wildlife in urbanized societies has led to the emergence of a culture whose meanings for wildlife are less grounded in the utilitarian/instrumental orientation of rural agrarian systems. Urban perspectives on wildlife are comprised of more highly individualized emotional/symbolic values. This shift creates two problems with respect to managing wildlife in an urbanizing landscape. First the increased diversity in values and meanings increases the likelihood for social conflicts regarding wildlife management while at the same time making socially acceptable resolutions more intractable. This in turn requires fundamental changes in decision-making paradigms and the research approaches used to inform decision making. Second, as remaining rural communities feel the pressures of urbanization, wildlife conflicts become conflicts not just over wildlife but conflict over larger socio-political concepts such as equity, tradition, private property rights, government control, power, and acceptable forms of knowledge. This paper examines the wildlife management implications of changes associated with increasing urbanization and employs two case studies to illustrate these issues. First a study of a controversy over urban deer management provides insights into how to map conflicting values and search for common ground in an urban culture with increasingly individualistic values for wildlife. Specifically, the analysis illustrates that common ground may, at times, be found even among people with conflicting value systems. The second case study examined a ranching community faced with predator reintroduction. This case study illustrates tensions that occur when the community of interest (i.e. a national public) is broader than the community of place in which the problem occurs. In this latter situation, the debate centers around more than just different views about the rights of animals. It also entailed the rights of individuals and communities to decide their future. The conclusion discusses the need for wildlife institutions to adapt their underlying decision making philosophy including the way science is integrated into decision making processes in light of the changes in social context caused by urbanization.

Managing operations with people and technology

The paper addresses the synergy between operations, technology management and human resource management by way of a study of operational innovation in firms within the Cypriot clothing manufacturing sector. Three case studies of change involving the automation of manufacturing are analysed with reference to the notion of a coping cycle. In each case, the firm in question experienced difficulties with the implementation of operational innovations which made change problematic to sustain. Key factors reside in the general nature and historical context of employee relations and in the tactics employed to implement change. These have implications for the effective management of change and these are discussed within the paper. More broadly, the paper identifies human resource issues as falling within the proper scope of operations and technology management research. There remains a need to temper the traditional hardware focus of studies of operational/technological innovation with the reality of human behaviour.

PUNCTUATED AND INCREMENTAL CHANGE: THE UK WATER INDUSTRY.

The punctuated-incremental change paradox is discussed. Four hypotheses regarding change choice are tested using a UK water industry study. Longitudinal, cross-sectional and case study analyses are combined to compare firms' performance. Contrary to previous research, punctuated change processes were often found inferior to incremental processes. Change management implications are explored.Punctuated change is usually defined as a discontinuity in organisational development and is traditionally associated with environmental turbulence; it is also associated with step changes in the performance of an organisation. We discuss the foundations of the punctuated-incremental change paradox, and lay out four hypotheses regarding the moments when such change is adopted and its economic effect. We explore these ideas through a study of the UK water industry: a contrived macro experiment. Our methodology has three dimensions combining cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of firm performance with individual case studies. This approach, enabled by the simultaneous privatisation of the major firms in the industry, allows direct comparison across firms over time. It overcomes the production of confusing results associated with the adoption of either method alone and permits a more complete picture to be developed. We find that the response to privatisation was varied and that, surprisingly, punctuated change processes were often inferior to continuous processes. This contrasts sharply with the findings of Romanelli and Tushman (1994). We explore the reasons why our results are well founded and what it means for the central debate on change management.

Change Management Initiatives: Moving Sales Organizations from Obsolescence to High Performance

This paper discusses change management initiatives undertaken by companies for the purpose of sustaining competitive advantage with customers and preventing sales force obsolescence. The paper discusses a number of topics related to change management initiatives including the following: 1) the challenges associated with change management initiatives, 2) experiences with three change management programs, 3) the business life cycle and change implications for sales managers, 4) the wisdom of change management focus being operational or strategic, 5) change management objectives that achieve sustainable competitive advantage through people, and 6) the change management implications of high performance systems for sales managers.

Biodiversity and habitat modification in pest management

Species diversity of animals and plants is relevant to pest management in very different ways. Plant diversity provides sources of biologically active natural products and of genes for plant resistance. Animal diversity is involved in both harmful and beneficial interactions between crops and weeds or uncultivated land and in provision of potential biological control agents. The pest management implications of changes in biological diversity therefore need to be considered at a smaller scale in the management of cropping systems and on a larger scale in development programmes and national land use planning.

Managing Change through Communication Technologies in Third World Countries

The fundamental premises of three different models of diffusion of new technologies are described; the similarities and differences in prediction which are derivable from the three perspectives are highlighted. These perspectives include (1) diffusion of innovation; (2) technology transfer; and (3) critical mass theory. The article examines these predictions within the context of the unique social, cultural and political environments of developing countries. To illustrate the results of this approach, these theories are applied retrospectively to three technologies introduced into developing countries. They differentially explain diffusion and the subsequent use of these technologies. Implications for change management and technology policy are presented and future research is suggested.