Exploring influencers of strategic change processes: evidence from five government businesses in the Omani context

Abstract

This article presents an exploratory multiple case study conducted on five different government businesses in Oman with the aim of developing a comprehensive framework of strategic change influencers and showing their impact on change implementation and change outcomes. Data was collected via in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews with forty-two managers from the top, middle and lower levels and staff from different divisions. The study utilizes the process approach and the contingency perspective to highlight the main influencers of multiple strategic change processes. The data was analyzed via thematic analysis. The findings revealed four main influencers across the five cases one of which was found to moderate the effects of the remaining influencers. This study contributes to the fields of organizational change, strategy, leadership and HRM. It offers new and compelling context-specific insights based on a deep understanding of practice. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Keywords:

• Organizational change
• strategic change
• change processes
• contingency theory
• Oman
• facilitators
• inhibitors
• multiple case study

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Misida Al Jahwari

Dr Misida Al Jahwari is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Change and HRM in the Department of Management, College of Economics and Political Science in Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. She currently teaches Organizational Change and other specialized HRM courses at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her research interests are on strategic change processes and HRM. She has investigated several cases of organizational change processes in Oman and interviewed several CEOs and other top managers on implementing mergers, restructurings, and management integrations in Oman. She offers professional services to large government and private businesses and is currently leading a major restructuring project of a large university.

Pawan Budhwar

Dr Pawan Budhwar is the 50th Anniversary Professor of International HRM and Head of Aston Business School, Birmingham, UK. He is also the Associate PVC International (India) for Aston University, Birmingham, UK and co-editor-in-chief of Human Resource Management Journal. His main research interests are in the broad field of HRM and performance with a specific emphasis on emerging markets like India.