Abstract
Change is essential for organisations to navigate volatile, complex, and ambiguous environments. However, many organisational changes do not achieve their objectives, presenting challenges for management, employees, and researchers. This issue is particularly relevant for public universities facing reduced government funding and increased competition for student enrolments.While existing studies offer theories and models to explain change failures, their varied insights complicate efforts to enhance employees’ attitudes towards change. Furthermore, the literature focuses on validating key factors and lacks explanations of how these factors lead to different attitudes towards change from employees’ perspectives.
Similar to many global institutions, public universities in Singapore are experiencing organisational change. However, there is a notable scarcity of research on these changes to comprehensively understand employee responses and their underlying reasons.
To address these gaps, this research seeks to understand the question of how employees respond to organisational changes in universities and the underlying reasons for their responses. In 2022, 29 academic, administrative, and research staff from five public universities in Singapore were interviewed via online meetings. Thematic analysis of the data revealed three key themes influencing employees’ attitudes towards change: communication, participation, and perceived ability.
Effective communication informs employees about changes, while participation fosters deeper understanding and ownership. Perceived ability reflects employees’ confidence in adapting to new environments. The findings indicate that employee engagement during change significantly impacts their satisfaction level across these themes, ultimately shaping their attitudes towards change.
These insights address existing literature gaps and contribute to our understanding of organisational change. Additionally, the research offers practical recommendations from the employees’ perspectives to alleviate negative attitudes towards change, providing valuable guidance for scholars, practitioners, and management seeking to enhance change initiatives in universities and beyond.
| Date of Award | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | David CARTER (Supervisor) & Raechel JOHNS (Supervisor) |