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Predictors of effective change management: A literature review

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DOI: 10.5897/AJBM2016.8208

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 Vol. 10(23), pp. 585-593, 14 December, 2016
DOI: 10.5897/AJBM2016.8208
Article Number: 786990C62201
ISSN 1993-8233
Copyright © 2016
African Journal of Business Management
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBM

Full Length Research Paper

Predictors of effective change management: A literature

review
William Makumbe

Department of Management Studies, Great Zimbabwe University Masvingo, Zimbabwe.

Received 8 November, 2016; Accepted 28 November, 2016

The purpose of this study was to bring together and a nalyze significant writings on change
management in order to establish key variables in effective change management. Whilst there are many
change models that have prescribed stages involved in implementi ng successful change management,
a synthesis of the actual key variables that act as a bedrock in effective organisation change is missing
in literature. The literature review undertaken in this study therefore sought to summarise the models
by explaining the key predictors of effective change management. This article argues that Change
leadership, communication, employee engagement and employee commitment are key variables in
successful organisation change implementation.

Key words: Change leadership, change communication, employee engagement,employee commitment.

INTRODUCTION

Organizations today are facing more change than ever 1. Prior to organization change implementation.
before (Conner, 1992). Change has become synonymous 2.During organization change implementation.
with standard business practice and an organization 3.After the implementation of organization change.
needs to change in order to remain competitive (Mutihac,
2010). Many organization change models (Lewin, 1951; Kotter,
The fast changing technological environment, 1996; Peddle et al., 1998; Paton and McCalman, 2000)
workforce diversity, changing customer tastes and have prescribed the key stages involved in effective
preferences as well as cut throat competition are some of change management to improve employee‟s acceptance
the business complexities confronting management of change.
today. To overcome these challenges organizations have From the models it can be argued that organizational
to change. change will be a hapless endeavor without the
However, it is computed that at least more than half of appropriate leadership, employee engagement,
all the organisational change programs fail, reach a communication to and commitment of individuals. The
deadlock, or do not reach the results, which they initially management of these four variables in the change
were aiming at (Gravenhorst et al., 1999). This therefore management process play a pivotal role in the
calls for sound change management practices at the implementation of new ideas in organizations.
following key stages: The management of change is key to meeting

E-mail:makumbe.william@gmail.com.

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586 Afr. J. Bus. Manage.

organization objectives, however many a time, the adaptation to the environment and / or an improvement in
problem is that some business managers implement performance (Pardo del val and Fuentes, 2003).
change initiatives without adequately taking cognisance
of the impact of the aforesaid predictors on employee
attitudes to change. Models in change management
This is even more astonishing given that it is well
recognized that the success of organizational changes The key stages in effective change management have
often rests on the motivation and commitment of been emphasised in many change models, however this
employees themselves (Armstrong-Stassen, 1998; study focuses on a few models. These models have been
Kozlowski et al., 1993). chosen for illustrative purposes since we have many
All too often, employees are told to accept change change models. The foundation for change management
programs which did not take into account their literature can be traced back to the early work of Lewin
contributions or views. The lack of employee participation (1947). He suggested that successful change has to go
results in views and concerns going unheard. This leads through three phases; unfreezing, moving to a new state
to no sense of ownership being generated amongst and refreezing. After Kurt Lewin, a number of
employees which then causes change programs to fail organisation change models that prescribed the key
due to lack of commitment. stages to be followed in effective change management
Negative attitudes to change created as results of non- came into being. Some of the models are shown in Table
participation become a real challenge for business 1.
managers as resistance to change increases. A look at the three models indicate that leadership,
This study therefore brings to the fore the critical role employee engagement, communication and employee
played by the key predictors indicated above in improving commitment feature frequently therefore tare considered
change acceptance amongst employees in organisations. key in effective change management. These change-
implementation models argue that, if change leaders
Objectives follow their recommendations and execute the proposed
strategies, they will be successful in implementing
1. To analyse literature and establish the variables that change in organisations. The next section discusses the
are key in effective change management. key variables critical in effective change management.
2. To provide an intergrated conceptual framework for
effective change management. DISCUSSION

METHODOL OGY Key variables in effective change management

Methodologically, this article is an intergrated literature review Leadership and change management
because it review ed, criticised and synthesized representative
literature on key variables in effective change management . At the
end of the article, the research intergrated significant findings in
Several researchers and popular authors acknowledge
literature and developed a new framew ork on the topic that can be that leadership is critical to the success of any change
tested empirically in future researches. The article is therefore initiative (Kotter, 1996; Bommer et al., 2005; Tyler and
underpinned by an extensive literature review inorder to establish Cremer, 2005; Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006; Furst
key variables critical in effective change management. The sources and Cable, 2008).
that w ere consulted included:
Leaders are known as “Champions of Change”- as it is
1. Web-based articles.
the top management of any organization who keep the
2. Search engines such as EbscoHost, ScienceDirect, Jstor and process of change going on and maintaining the
Google Sholar. operational reliability of the organization (Nadler and
3. Scientific journals included: Journal Of Change Management, Nadler, 1998).
Journal of Management Development and the African Journal of Change management literature has also focused on
Business Management.
activities that leaders have to perform in order for change
4. Change Management Textbooks.
initiatives to come to fruition. Higgs and Rowland (2000,
2001) focused on leadership activities involved in
LITERATURE REVIEW implementing change. They identified five broad areas of
leadership competency associated with successful
What is organisational change? change implementation. These were identified as:

Organisational change refers to planned or unplanned 1. Creating the case for change: effectively engaging
transformations in the structure, technology and / or others in recognizing the business need for change.
people of an organisation (Greenberg and Baron, 2002). 2. Creating structural change: ensuring that the change is
In general, the aim of an organisational change is an based on depth of understanding of the issues and
 Makumbe 587

Table 1. Organisation change models.

Critical success factor Kotter (1996) Pendlebury et al. (1998) Paton and McCalman (2000)
Compelling need for change Establishing sense of urgency Mobilising Problem description
Visible, aligned and committed Visible and tangible senior
Creating guiding coalition Handling power issues
leadership management
Developing a vision and Formulating objectives and success
Clarity and direction of targets Defining vision
strategy criteria
Broad based participation Empowering employees Obtaining participation Participation of those affected
Targeted and effective Communicating change
Communicating actively Communicate openly
communication vision
Generating quick wins Generating short wins
Training & Mentoring Training and coaching
Motivating people to change Anchoring new approaches in Handling the emotional consolidation
behaviour culture dimension

supported with a consistent set of tools and processes. explicit commentary on why people should strive to
3. Engaging others in the whole change process and create that future (Kotter, 1996).
building commitment. Vision plays a key role in producing useful change by
4. Implementing and sustaining changes: developing helping to direct, align and inspire actions on the part of
effective plans and ensuing good monitoring and review large numbers of people. Without an appropriate vision, a
practices are developed. transformation effort can easily dissolve into a list of
5. Facilitating and developing capability: ensuring that confusing, incompatible and time consuming projects that
people are challenged to find go in the wrong direction or nowhere at all” (Kotter,
their own answers and that they are supported in doing 1996). A vision therefore acts as a beacon to the
this. followers. It directs where the organization is intending to
move towards. Without the vision, the employees in the
Other researches also support the utility of change organization will lose direction and hence the change
leadership behaviours as researchers have outlined a objective will not be achieved. This study therefore
lack of visioning, lack of leadership support, lack of argues that the leadership has to craft and communicate
commitment to change for the right reasons, and lack of a a compelling vision to the people.
guiding coalition as major barriers to successful change
(Kotter, 1996; Winum et al., 1997; Ostroff, 2006; By et al.,
2008). Supportive shared values
Gill (2003) proposed a model of successful change
leadership. He stated that successful change requires O‟Toole (1995) says that there is a widespread belief
vision, strategy, the development of a culture of among corporate executives in the need to create strong,
sustainable shared values that support the vision and shared values to unite people in a fragmented world.
strategy for change, and empowering, motivating and Effective leadership entails identifying and promoting
inspiring those who are involved or affected. Figure 1 shared values. Shared values are a key feature of a
shows elements that lead to effective change leadership strong organisational culture (that includes beliefs,
in an organisation (Gill, 2003). These are further attitudes and patterns of habitual behaviour) that
explained. supports a common purpose and engenders commitment
to it.Shared values serve the purpose of binding people
together creating strong cohesiveness amongst
Vision employees. An appropriate culture act as a source of
competitive advantage in organisations. The leaders are
The ability to come up with a vision has been talked there to develop and maintain a supportive culture.
about frequently. “A vision is a mental image of a
possible and desirable future of the organization” (Bennis
and Nanus, 1985; Maxey, 2000). Kotter states that the Strategy for change
vision is the ability of a leader to look in to future while
aligning the team with that vision, and then make them Without strategies for change, vision is a dream (Gill,
inspire to get the desired goals concerning that future. 2003). This means that a vision has to be well supported
Vision is a picture of the future with some implicit or by strategies. It is the leadership of an organisation
588 Afr. J. Bus. Manage.

Figure 1. A model of leadership for change (Gill, 2003).

whose responsibility is to craft strategies to achieve step involves creating short term wins. This involves
organisation change vision. Effective leadership entails setting targets that are easy to achieve. When employees
developing, getting commitment to and implementing achieve the targets they have to be rewarded. Rewarding
rational business strategies based on possible future employees for good performance is motivational.
scenarios for the organisation (Gill, 2003). An effective Employees will apply much more effort towards the
strategy for change entails creating a guiding coalition — achievement of organisational objectives.
putting together a group of people with enough power to
lead the change — and getting it to work together as an
effective team (Kotter, 1995). Communication and change management

Communication is a key in effective change management

Empowerment and effective communication is important for both
managerial and organizational success (Dawson, 1996;
In practice, empowerment is giving people the Kreitner and Kinicki, 1995). The empirical picture that is
knowledge, skills, opportunity, freedom, self-confidence slowly emerging indicates that communication process
and resources to manage themselves and be and organisational change implementation are
accountable (Gill, 2003). According to Kotter (2005), inextricably linked processes” (Lewis, 1999).
empowering people for action in part entails getting rid of Communication strategy can be perceived as a
obstacles to change, removing or changing systems or mechanism to clarify the facts to various stakeholders of
structures that undermine the vision, and encouraging what is going to change, why, and what benefits they can
risk taking, new ideas and innovative. Empowerment expect to derive from the change (Kulvisaechana, 2001).
therefore allows people in the taking part in the change Several scholars have emphasised the importance of
process to develop a sense of ownership for decisions communication in organisation change. The first goal of
they make. This leads to the development of high organisational communication should be to inform the
commitment towards change objectives. As commitment employees about their tasks and about the policy and
increases resistance to change is reduced. The other issues of the organisation. One of the main
leadership can also create self-managed teams during purposes of change communication should be to inform
change implementation. These teams are empowered to the organisational members about the change, and how
come up with decisions and be able to implement them. their work is altered because of the change. This
informative function of communication will have an effect
on readiness for change (Elving, 2005) Communication
Motivation also serves to create a community, resulting in
commitment with the organisation and trust in the
Effective leaders motivate and inspire people to want to organisation. This study supports the conceptual model
do what needs to be done. Kotter‟s 8 step model sixth of communication proposed by Elving (2005) as shown in
 Makumbe 589

Figure 2. Conceptual model of communication during organisation change (Elving, 2005).

Figure 2. clarity would lead to greater levels of perceptions of

supervisory support. An organization which involves its
employees in the change and takes their feedback
Communication to inform seriously can create a platform for open employee
participation (Weber and Weber, 2001). This leads to
Malek and Yazdanifard (2012) stated that communication commitment towards change initiatives. Trust results in
is used to announce organizational changes and to distinctive effects such as more positive attitudes, higher
provide stakeholders with information about the nature, levels of cooperation, and superior levels of performance
timing, and significance of the change. Meaningful (Jones and George, 1998; Mayer et al., 1995).
communication informs and educates employees at all
levels and motivates them to support the strategy
(Barrett, 2002). This is important as positive attitudes to Uncertainty and Job Security
change are vital in successful change programs (Kotter,
1996), as resistance to change is one of the biggest Uncertainty during change processes is typically about
barriers to overcome. Communication of changes are the aim, process and expected outcomes of the change
therefore very critical during the process of change and implications for the individual employees (Buono and
management. Prior to the implementation of change the Bowditch, 1993). Knowledge is not only a pre-requisite to
leadership has to explain why the change is necessary the ability of influencing the outcomes (Terry and
and also tackle on the benefits and costs of the change Jimmieson, 1999), but knowledge about the motives for
process. During the implementation of the change people change will also help reducing uncertainty and creating
are concerned about the progress being made towards readiness for change. It has often been stated that
the accomplishment of organizational objectives. After employees do not fear change but the consequences of
the implementation of new initiatives the change change. Communication helps to manage the fear
leadership has to communicate the new behaviors that amongst employees in the organisation. Before the
support the change programmes to prevent change introduction of the change, the benefits and the costs of
decay. the change have to be communicated to the employees.
This helps employees to become better prepared for the
change consequences. If the there is no communication
Communication aimed at creating community a cloud of uncertainty develops and there will be
resistance to change.
Communication should be used to create a community
which will increase commitment, trust, and identification
with the organization and management (Hussain, 2013). Employee commitment and change management
Weber and Weber (2001) also share the sentiments as
Elving (2005) when they stated that higher levels of Commitment to change usually reflects an employee‟s
feedback, autonomy, employee participation and goal level of attachment to the implementation of new work
590 Afr. J. Bus. Manage.

Figure 3. Conceptual framew ork for commitment to change: adapted from Armenakis
et al. (1993).

rules, policies, programs, budgets, technology (Neubert Managers who can get their subordinates to commit to
and Wu, 2009). Change management literature makes a new goals, programs, policies, and procedures may
distinction amongst three types of commitment: stand a better chance of having these critical business
activities successfully implemented (Kotter, 1996). Jason
1. Affective commitment is defined as the strength of an (2010) in reviewing literature on commitment to change,
individual‟s identification and involvement with the looked at how various authors (Herscovitch and Meyer,
organisation. It is characterised by a strong belief in and 2002; Conner, 1992; Coatsee, 1999; Armenakis, 1993)
acceptance of the goals and values of the organisation, a have discussed the factors that lead to employee
willingness to put in extra effort on behalf of the commitment in organisation change. What all these
organisation and a desire to remain a member of the conceptualizations share is the notion that Commitment
organisation (Maxwell and Steele, 2003; Falkenburg and to change reflects some kind of attachment to and
Schyns, 2007). involvement in the change initiative, which results from
awareness of the change, some combination of
2. Continuance commitment can be defined as the motivating factors, be they goal congruence, affective
commitment an employee has towards the organisation affinity, or self-interest, and the mental/physical ability to
because of the investments they have made in the work on behalf of the change initiative.
organisation and the costs associated with leaving the This study proposes a model developed by Armenakis
organisation (Falkenburg and Schyns, 2007). These et al. (1993) to show factors that lead to effective change
commitment. The conceptualisation is as shown in Figure
investments could include close working relationships
with co-workers, retirement and career investments. 3.
Continuance commitment is also strengthened by a
perceived lack of employment alternatives, which Awareness of the discrepancy between the status
increases the cost associated with leaving the quo and desired state
organisation (Stallworth, 2004). Employees who possess
a high degree of affective commitment will remain with Employees get committed to change if they are aware of
the organisation because they want to, while employees the reasons why they have to move from the status quo
with a high degree of continuance commitment will to a desired future state. This understanding is influenced
remain with the organisation because they have to. explaining why change is necessary clearly spelling out
the benefits of the change initiatives. A lot of effort has to
3. Normative commitment is a form of commitment that be made to incorporate the employees‟ views in the
is based on an individual‟s feeling of obligation to remain whole change programme resulting in the development of
with the organisation because it is seen as the moral and affective commitment.
right thing to do (Meyer and Allen 1991). These feelings
of obligation can occur in instances where, for example, Change leaders support
the organisation has supported the employees‟
educational efforts (Williams, 2004). Change initiatives have to be supported by resources.
 Makumbe 591

The change leadership has to provide adequate support and empowerment are built”.
to see changes through. The resources can be in the Kotter (2005) in his eight step model indicated
form of capital, human resources, equipment and employee engagement as critical in attaining change
information. The inadequacy of these in the right quantity objectives. He talked of communicating the vision (in step
or quality negatively affects the achievement of change 4) and empowering employees (in step 5) as critical
goals. Change leaders have to make sure the provision stages of implementing change successfully. In Pugh
of the required resources to elicit the right levels of (2005) six change rules he stressed employee
commitment is provided. engagement in step II (initiate change through formal
discussion and. get feedback and participation) and step
III (Positively encourage those concerned to give their
Valence of the change to the employee objections). Price and Chahal (2005) list
“communications and workforce engagement” as step
Employees are also less likely to resist change when they
feel that some value will accrue to them as a result of the number four in their six-step process.
change. While many authors refer to this as „personal Finally, Guy and Beauman (2005) highlight
“engagement and alignment” as one of the three main
valence‟ (Armenakis et al., 1993, 1999; Dirks et al.,
1996), a distinction should be made between perceptions categories for successful change management. Guy and
that the change is personally beneficial and perceptions Beauman (2005) also list commitment as the leading
component of engagement and alignment. The aforesaid
that the change will benefit the organisation
(organisational valence). Employees who believe that the support the view that when employees are engaged,
change will benefit both themselves and the organisation organization change can be implemented successfully.
Saks (2006) used job characteristics, perceived
are more likely to support the change, whereas
employees who do not believe any benefits will result supervisor support, rewards and recognition and
from the change will resist the change effort (Jansen and procedural justices as considered factors that could affect
Michael 2010). It follows therefore that change leadership engagement levels. His model is presented in Figure 4.
reward appropriately the employees who achieve change
objectives.
Perceived organisational and supervisor support

Ability of the organization and the employee to Organizational members feel safe in work environments
achieve change objectives that are characterized by openness and supportiveness
(Saks, 2005). Supportive environments allow members to
Commitment to change increases when employees experiment and to try new things and even fail without
believe that they are able to cope with the change fear of the consequences (Kahn, 1990). Employees
(Armenakis et al., 1993, 1999) and have the skills and therefore become engaged in their work.
abilities to execute the tasks and activities that are
associated with the implementation of the intended
change (change confidence) (Holt et al., 2007). When Distributive and procedural justice
employees‟ confidence levels are low, or when coping
efforts cease, there is a likelihood of resistance to A system of fairness in terms of the distribution and
organisational change. allocation of resources enables employees to provide
more energy towards work (Saks, 2005). Employees with
high perceptions of justice are likely to be positive
Employee engagement and change management towards work. Fair and just application of company
procedures is motivational.
McEwen (2011) present employee engagement as the
affective and cognitive connection employees have for
their organization that leads them to exert discretionary Job characteristics
effort at work.The policies and practices of employee
engagement strive to create an emotional bond between Jobs that offer variety and which also allow opportunities
that of the employee and the organization through for decision making improve the worker engagement
communication, empowerment, rewards, recognition, and levels. Jobs that are high on the core job characteristics
compensation linked to implementation objectives. provide individuals with the room and incentive to bring
In much of the research concerning change more of themselves into their work or to be more
management strategies, employee engagement is listed engaged (Kahn, 1992).
as a primary function to the success of properly
implementing a change management initiative. Schmidt Rewards and recognition
and Jackson (2005) state the fourth step to a balanced
culture, communication, as “where engagement, ownership, Kahn (1990) reported that people vary in their
592 Afr. J. Bus. Manage.

Figure 4. Conceptual model of employee engagement (Saks, 2006).

Figure 5. The integrated conceptual model: Predictors to successful organisation change.

engagement as a function of their perceptions of the an integrated conceptual framework of effective change
benefits they receive from a role. This means that those predictors. The integrated conceptual framework is
employees who receive high rewards are likely to presented in Figure 5.
experience high engagement levels.

Conclusion
RESULTS
From the literature analysed earlier, it is apparent that
Proposed intergrated conceptual framework of communication, leadership, employee engagement and
effective change predictors employee commitment play a central role in change
acceptance. Change managers have to manage the four
From the aforementioned literature, this study proposes variables to realise the benefits of change.
 Makumbe 593

Areas of further research Nadler DA, Nadler MB (1998). Champions of Change, San Francisco.
Neubert M, Wu C (2009). Action commitments, in: H. Klein, T. Becker
and J. Meyer (eds) Commitment in Organizations: Accumulated
The study proposes further research to empirically test Wisdom and New Directions, (New York: Routledge). pp. 181-
the framework that has been developed in this study. The 210.
study should focus on how the variables identified in the O‟Toole J (1995). Leading Change: Overcoming the Ideology of
Comfort and the Tyranny of Custom, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco,
framework influence employee attitudes to change in
CA. Performance Improvement Unit (2001).
organisations. Pardo del val M, Martínez Fuentes C (2003). Resistance to change: A
literature review and empirical study. Manage. Decis. 41(2): 148-155.
Saks AM (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee
engagement. J. Manage. Psychol. 21(7):600-619.
Conflict of Interests Weber PS, Weber JE (2001). Changes in employee perceptions during
organizational change. Leadersh. Org. Dev. J. 22(6):291-300.
The author has not declared any conflict of interests.

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