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Change Management Dissertation Topic Ideas

Published by Owen Ingram at January 2nd, 2023 , Revised On August 18, 2023

Choosing a relevant and interesting thesis topic can often be a troublesome experience. The topics you propose to the supervisors and advisor should be innovative and creative, cover both theoretical and practical aspects, and add something new to the field.

The fact that change is a part of our lives in practically every aspect makes change management a fascinating and diverse topic for dissertations . Subjects related to change management are easy to find.

Here are a few intriguing change management thesis topics and ideas to help you get started on your change management dissertation. Make sure you choose subjects that meet your requirements and are related to your interests. In addition, you can create your own dissertation topics based on your interests and preferences.

The Best Change Management Dissertation Topics & Ideas

• An examination of the methods and instruments used by British organizations to study and manage change
• A study to comprehend the scholarly viewpoint on change management in global firms. What does it do, and how is it controlled?
• How can firms in the UK recreate themselves in the COVID-19 era?
• A study of the change management techniques used in the UK’s health care industry.
• A critical analysis of the technological methods employed for efficient management.
• A comparison of first- and third-world countries’ approaches to managing changes in natural resource usage patterns.
• Comparative examination of industrialized and developing nations’ approaches to change management pitfalls.
• Highlighting the methods for change management used in the public sector. A case study involving the UK.
• Assessing the elements that influence change inside an organization. An examination of the British textile industry.
• A systematic review of IT industry best practices for change management. A Facebook case study.
• Examine the difficulties and obstacles in change management for new businesses in the UK.
• Internal control elements are crucial to the effectiveness of change management strategies.
• A study to ascertain how data modelling techniques are used to start changes in the UK manufacturing industry.
• Social capital techniques’ contribution to the evaluation of change management initiatives.
• An innovative study to better understand how organizations might reinvent themselves to fit the new norms and how change management works in times of financial crisis.
• An investigation of the effects of policy input on organizational change culture. A case study of financial institutions and banks.
• Examining leadership, ethics, and values in the context of change management.
• An exploration of the impact of change management during the coronavirus epidemic in the UK’s public sector.
• An analysis of the conceptualization of travel and tourism in poor countries using change management.
• Examining the connections between information sharing, coherence in the curriculum, and change management in education
• An investigation on the things about people who resist change. What are the ways to get over these management and adoption phobias of change?
• management of climate change’s role in balancing rising energy demands
• Planning for sustainable development and climate change control: a descriptive approach.
• Examining the adoption of western methods for change management by Asian organizations, with a concentration on welfare groups.
• What effects are there from developments in the auto manufacturing sector? A tesla case study
• An examination of how data modelling is being used to spark change in the American manufacturing sector
• What adjustments have companies had to make as a result of coronavirus outbreaks? An examination of the UK.

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Free topics for a change management dissertation – what is better than that? Here are some free topics for change management dissertations. It is possible for you to personalize your change management dissertation based on your interests and preferences. For this reason, our top-notch dissertation writers have created this free list of the best change management dissertation topic ideas for you.

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• Explore employee perspectives.
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A child’s behavior is affected by his or her experiences and behaviors. Language, IQ, and motor abilities are just some of the domains in which change is studied. Theories of development give different weights to experience.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Change management'

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Gianforte, Jeffrey J. "Change management." Menomonie, WI : University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2007/2007gianfortej.pdf.

Kebrlová, Linda. "Change management." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2010. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-75417.

Koufalis, Dimitrios. "Change Management." [S.l. : s.n.], 2004. http://www.bsz-bw.de/cgi-bin/xvms.cgi?SWB11380483.

Mines, Janie L. (Janie Louvenia) 1958. "Integrated change management." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60755.

Braun, Stanley. "Systemisches Change Management." Universitätsbibliothek Chemnitz, 2016. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:ch1-qucosa-197886.

Liu, Sha. "Software Configuration Management and Change Management." Thesis, Mälardalen University, Mälardalen University, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-5726.

Nowadays, as the use of computers is rapidly spreading to our life, software is getting more and more complex and large in computer systems. Therefore, the software configuration management (SCM) is playing an increasingly important role in the software development process. One of its significant activities is change management, which has an outstanding role in dealing with the continued and concurrent change requirements during the system development and use.

In this report, we describe some basic activities of SCM, overview some representative SCM CASE tools with emphasizing on change management and analyze a possibility of integration of SCM version management tool (e.g., Subversion) and error management tool (e.g., Bugzialla) in order to provide an integrated software configuration management and change management. Moreover, a set of exercises based on RCS are developed, which illustrate some SCM simple activities and their modification to facilitate version management and change management.

Kling, Lars. "Change Marketing : marketingbasierte interne Kommunikation im Change Management /." Aachen : Shaker, 2003. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=010240729&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.

Bürgermeister, Markus. "Change und Planung : Zu einem Balanced-Change-Management /." Mering, Schwab : Hampp, R, 2009. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=3191329&prov=M&dok%5Fvar=1&dok%5Fext=htm.

Bürgermeister, Markus. "Change und Planung zu einem Balanced-change-Management." München Mering Hampp, 2008. http://d-nb.info/991646568/04.

Gustafsson, Andreas, and David Aspegren. "The management consultant as a change agent : Critical success factors in change management." Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, EMM (Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Management), 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-584.

Introduktion

Det har pågått en diskussion om konsultverksamhet är ett yrke eller en hel industri. Många tänkare har kommit fram till att det är både och. Konsultfirmorna erbjuder idag också många olika typer av service, den här uppsatsen har sitt fokus på förändringsledningsområdet samt att beskriva managementkonsultens roll som förändringsagent. Trots att det ofta är svårt att se vilka effekter förändringar har på organisationer så är det viktigt att förändra. Förändringsledning är dock mycket svårt och därför misslyckas många förändringsprojekt.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att beskriva managementkonsultens roll som förändringsagent samt att identifiera problem i och omkring förändringsprocessen. Vidare hoppas man kunna hitta exempel på problem och framgångsfaktorer för att förbättra förändringsledning.

Den här studien är gjord utifrån ett deduktivt synsätt. De empiriska data har sedan insamlats genom användandet av kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer. Det främsta skälet till valet av en kvalitativ undersökning var att få en djupare kunskap inom undersökningsområdet samt att det ansågs vara bästa sättet för att uppnå syftet. Författarna undersökte tre olika projekt genom att intervjua en konsult och en klient inom vart och ett av projekten. På grund av uppsatsens fokus på förändringsagenter så säkerställdes att alla tre konsulterna hade denna roll när de ansvarade för ledning av förändring.

Många faktorer påverkar implementeringen av förändringar i organisationer. I konsultens roll som förändringsagent är det viktigt att inte bli en implementerare, i slutändan är det klientens organisation som ska förändras. För att uppnå framgångsrik förändring har författarna kommit fram till några slutsatser som är vitigare än andra, bland dessa finner man, skapandet av involvering och gemensamt engagemang för förändring, hitta det verkliga problemet samt att man inte glömmer vikten av att involvera chefer och ledare.

Ewerstein, Anders, and Markus Jansson. "Management method for Change Management in ERP systems." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för informations- och kommunikationsteknik (ICT), 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-177379.

Pescher, Julia. "Change-Management Taxonomie und Erfolgsauswirkungen." Wiesbaden Gabler, 2009. http://d-nb.info/999240668/04.

Victor, Paul. "Change management : an integrative approach." Thesis, University of Salford, 2008. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/26954/.

Norbye, Knut Magnus Gjertsen. "Engineering Change Management in Shipbuilding." Thesis, Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskaplige Universitet, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-21100.

Schmidt, Boris. "Change management - den Wandel gestalten." Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig, 2014. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa-139823.

Fassauer, Gabriele. "Messages on "Resistance to change" in German change management approaches." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2015. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-170116.

Pasqual, Michael C. "Multilayer network modeling of change propagation for engineering change management." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/62481.

Kameda, Mitsuhiro 1971. "Disruptive innovation : value change and complementary change." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17867.

Ridgeway, Graeme Mansel. "Introducing total quality management : a change in management ideology." Thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, 1997. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/3182/.

Baumöl, Ulrike. "Change Management in Organisationen situative Methodenkonstruktion für flexible Veränderungsprozesse /." Wiesbaden : Gabler, 2008. http://sfx.metabib.ch:9003/sfx_locater?sid=ALEPH:DSV01&genre=book&isbn=978-3-8350-0905-9&id=doi:10.1007/978-3-8349-9640-4.

Mur, Torrentó Rubén Javier. "Adapting forest management to climate change." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Girona, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/130966.

Robèrt, Markus. "Mobility Management and Climate Change Policies." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Samhällsplanering och miljö, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-4539.

Feng, Philip. "Change management - New Ways of Working." Thesis, KTH, Fastigheter och byggande, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-217001.

McRoy, Ian. "Management of change in higher education." Thesis, Middlesex University, 2006. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/6556/.

Robèrt, Markus. "Mobility management and climate change policies /." Stockholm : Arkitektur och samhällsbyggnad, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-4539.

羅左華 and Cho-wa Law. "Change management: a people-oriented approach." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1996. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31267348.

Duffy, J. S. "The management of change & copyright." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1985. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12573/.

Meir, Joseph Maurice. "The management of change in construction." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/76009.

Wilson, James St Stephen. "Web-based change management support tool." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/91743.

Karnouskos, Stamatis. "Effective Change Management in Modern Enterprises." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för informatik (IK), 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-49777.

Donnison, Louise. "Mycology of haymeadows under management change." Thesis, Aberystwyth University, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.287116.

Higdon, Lora Elizabeth. "Change management for small business leaders." Thesis, Pepperdine University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10182301.

Small business owners face challenges associated with leading change, and many times lack the necessary resources to manage it properly. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to determine what challenges leaders of small businesses face in managing change, what strategies and practices those leaders employ, and how the leaders of small businesses measure success in managing change. This study also determined what advice leaders of small businesses would suggest for managing change. Four research questions were created to assist with this process, and 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted in various cities throughout the state of Michigan. The participants were small business owners of privately held American companies that had been in business for a minimum of 5 years. Twelve interview questions were asked to answer the 4 research questions. Many themes emerged. Some of the challenges that participants face while managing change are resistance to change, communication issues, lack of confidence, lack of resources, lack of knowledge/experience, absence of strategy, conflicts of interest, and lack of emotional intelligence. The participants shared many different strategies for successful management of change and also offered their lessons learned over the years. The main overall theme presented by all of the participants in this study was the importance of knowledge and experience for management of change in small businesses.

Terblanche, Thersia. "Change Management in a biopharmaceutical company." University of Western Cape, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/8003.

Ylander, John. "Constructive management : synchronizing relations in change /." Göteborg : BAS : School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2077/18747.

Law, Cho-wa. "Change management : a people-oriented approach /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1996. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B18003771.

Ilyukhina, Oxana, and Anna Stathopoulou. "Cultural effect on the change management." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Informatik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-45088.

Panokarren, Clifford L. "Information model for engineering change management." FIU Digital Commons, 2004. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3949.

servati, mohsen. "game of change; a game theoretic approach to organizational change management." Thesis, Jönköping University, JTH, Industrial Engineering and Management, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-12707.

      Organizational change and game theory were separately investigated over time. Due to lack of scientific research on the relationships of those two fields of knowledge, an investigation of the game theoretic applications in managing change was performed in this research. Game theoretic applications were structured concerning the analytical use of game theory, strategic formulation with game theory and equilibrium analysis. By a qualitative flexible research method, main problematic areas of organizational change were identified with suitable game theoretic applications. Those problem areas are: making cooperation and coalition in change, group dynamic difficulties and the problem of incentive rewards. In each problem area, game theoretic solutions were discussed to help managers to make better decisions. Four mechanisms were inferred to support the game theoretic analysis of change management problems. Those mechanisms are: sub games, practical games, specific modeling and behavioral studies of games. Finally, an instructional framework was developed to conclude findings and illuminate the game theoretic approach in organizational change.

Asquith, Andrew Richard. "Change management in local government : strategic change agents and organisational ownership." Thesis, Birmingham City University, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.385165.

Warner, Ashley M. "Becoming more open to change recommendations for a change management program /." Online version, 2004. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2004/2004warnera.pdf.

Harriss, Chris J. "Transculturals as Agents of Change." Thesis, The George Washington University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10743321.

With operations involving global interindividual interactions and strategic organizational change, organizations face a human resource problem. Today, human resources departments seek individuals capable of interacting across and beyond sociocultural boundaries and sometimes in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous settings. The literature has identified that organizations underutilize a specific pool of employees with extensive international life-work experience. This study was designed to explore the phenomenon of the transcultural individual from a humanistic perspective. To be a transcultural individual is to have successfully integrated two or more cultures into their worldview. The study also examined transculturality, designating transcultural traits or characteristics, as a positive attribute to being an agent of change in the workplace. Three underlying premises drove this study: first, human relations are malleable; second, transcultural individuals are naturals in interindividual intercultural interactions; and third, change is continuous.

The study population included five women and four men located in Washington, D.C., and Paris, France. The study used a qualitative interpretive inquiry design and a transdisciplinary theoretical framework to explore the nine life stories. Semistructured interviews provided rich and thick descriptions for analysis. The results were threefold: the participants transcended their inherited culture to attain a degree of cultural freedom; a transcultural life lessens angst in the face of change; and self-perception of being a manager and/or leader of change seems normal to the participants.

The findings uncovered the transcultural life experience as a way of being and a way of knowing the world. Moreover, being transcultrual, from a human development and an existential transformative process, appears to predispose individuals to being proactive agents of change in the workplace. This study highlighted the positive humanistic perspectives, derived from being a transcultural individual, that organizations need from individuals with relevant knowledge to address cross-cultural challenges and complexified work settings due to a continuous state of change. The study also revealed a perception of change to be related to individuals’ prior life experiences with change, including emotional behaviors and coping mechanisms developed under such circumstances. Unforeseeably, conversations exposed personal the presence and role of temporalities in relation to personal perceptions of time in relation to change.change when revisiting and recollecting memories. In conclusion, recommendations for transcultural individuals and organizations are derived, and further research is suggested.

Richter, Andreas. "Kommunikation in Veränderungsprozessen : eine theoretisch-analytische Betrachtung und Expertenbefragung zur Rolle von Promotoren, Meinungsführern und Multiplikatoren innerhalb persönlicher unternehmensinterner Kommunikation im organisatorischen Wandel /." Berlin : Helios Media, 2008. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=017131267&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.

Swearingen, Robert. "The Ship of Change: A Model for Organizational Diagnosis and Change Management." Diss., North Dakota State University, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/10365/31717.

Tluchowska, Malgorzata. "Management of group processes during organisational change /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2002. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe17057.pdf.

Kantola, H. (Hannele). "Management accounting change in public health care." Doctoral thesis, Oulun yliopisto, 2014. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526204680.

Dunn, Lindsay, and n/a. "Management training and change in self-perception." University of Canberra. Education, 1990. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060706.162407.

Neumann-Cosel, Alexa von. "Change-Management systemtheoretisch betrachtet : ein synergetisches Handlungsmodell /." Hamburg : Kovač, 2006. http://www.verlagdrkovac.de/3-8300-2476-2.htm.

Nowak, André. "Wertschätzende Kommunikation Ressource in Change-Management-Prozessen." Saarbrücken VDM, Müller, 2004. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2845615&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.

Nowak, André. "Wertschätzende Kommunikation : Ressource in Change-Management-Prozessen /." Saarbrücken : VDM, Müller, 2006. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2845615&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.

Heaven, William John Douglas. "Object-Oriented Specification:Analysable Patterns & Change Management." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.506765.

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Change Management: From Theory to Practice

Jeffrey phillips.

1 University Libraries, Florida State University, 116 Honors Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306 USA

James D. Klein

2 Department of Educational Psychology & Learning Systems, College of Education, Florida State University, Stone Building-3205F, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4453 USA

This article presents a set of change management strategies found across several models and frameworks and identifies how frequently change management practitioners implement these strategies in practice. We searched the literature to identify 15 common strategies found in 16 different change management models and frameworks. We also created a questionnaire based on the literature and distributed it to change management practitioners. Findings suggest that strategies related to communication, stakeholder involvement, encouragement, organizational culture, vision, and mission should be used when implementing organizational change.

Organizations must change to survive. There are many approaches to influence change; these differences require change managers to consider various strategies that increase acceptance and reduce barriers. A change manager is responsible for planning, developing, leading, evaluating, assessing, supporting, and sustaining a change implementation. Change management consists of models and strategies to help employees accept new organizational developments.

Change management practitioners and academic researchers view organizational change differently (Hughes, 2007 ; Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Saka ( 2003 ) states, “there is a gap between what the rational-linear change management approach prescribes and what change agents do” (p. 483). This disconnect may make it difficult to determine the suitability and appropriateness of using different techniques to promote change (Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Hughes ( 2007 ) thinks that practitioners and academics may have trouble communicating because they use different terms. Whereas academics use the terms, models, theories, and concepts, practitioners use tools and techniques. A tool is a stand-alone application, and a technique is an integrated approach (Dale & McQuater, 1998 ). Hughes ( 2007 ) expresses that classifying change management tools and techniques can help academics identify what practitioners do in the field and evaluate the effectiveness of practitioners’ implementations.

There is little empirical evidence that supports a preferred change management model (Hallencreutz & Turner, 2011 ). However, there are many similar strategies found across change management models (Raineri, 2011 ). Bamford and Forrester’s ( 2003 ) case study showed that “[change] managers in a company generally ignored the popular change literature” (p. 560). The authors followed Pettigrew’s ( 1987 ) suggestions that change managers should not use abstract theories; instead, they should relate change theories to the context of the change. Neves’ ( 2009 ) exploratory factor analysis of employees experiencing the implementation of a new performance appraisal system at a public university suggested that (a) change appropriateness (if the employee felt the change was beneficial to the organization) was positively related with affective commitment (how much the employee liked their job), and (b) affective commitment mediated the relationship between change appropriateness and individual change (how much the employee shifted to the new system). It is unlikely that there is a universal change management approach that works in all settings (Saka, 2003 ). Because change is chaotic, one specific model or framework may not be useful in multiple contexts (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992 ; Pettigrew & Whipp, 1991 ). This requires change managers to consider various approaches for different implementations (Pettigrew, 1987 ). Change managers may face uncertainties that cannot be addressed by a planned sequence of steps (Carnall, 2007 ; Pettigrew & Whipp, 1991 ). Different stakeholders within an organization may complete steps at different times (Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Although there may not be one perspective change management approach, many models and frameworks consist of similar change management strategies.

Anderson and Ackerman Anderson ( 2001 ) discuss the differences between change frameworks and change process models. They state that a change framework identifies topics that are relevant to the change and explains the procedures that organizations should acknowledge during the change. However, the framework does not provide details about how to accomplish the steps of the change or the sequence in which the change manager should perform the steps. Additionally, Anderson and Ackerman Anderson ( 2001 ) explain that change process models describe what actions are necessary to accomplish the change and the order in which to facilitate the actions. Whereas frameworks may identify variables or theories required to promote change, models focus on the specific processes that lead to change. Based on the literature, we define a change strategy as a process or action from a model or framework. Multiple models and frameworks contain similar strategies. Change managers use models and frameworks contextually; some change management strategies may be used across numerous models and frameworks.

The purpose of this article is to present a common set of change management strategies found across numerous models and frameworks and identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these common strategies in practice. We also compare current practice with models and frameworks from the literature. Some change management models and frameworks have been around for decades and others are more recent. This comparison may assist practitioners and theorists to consider different strategies that fall outside a specific model.

Common Strategies in the Change Management Literature

We examined highly-cited publications ( n  > 1000 citations) from the last 20 years, business websites, and university websites to select organizational change management models and frameworks. First, we searched two indexes—Google Scholar and Web of Science’s Social Science Citation Index. We used the following keywords in both indexes: “change management” OR “organizational change” OR “organizational development” AND (models or frameworks). Additionally, we used the same search terms in a Google search to identify models mentioned on university and business websites. This helped us identify change management models that had less presence in popular research. We only included models and frameworks from our search results that were mentioned on multiple websites. We reached saturation when multiple publications stopped identifying new models and frameworks.

After we identified the models and frameworks, we analyzed the original publications by the authors to identify observable strategies included in the models and frameworks. We coded the strategies by comparing new strategies with our previously coded strategies, and we combined similar strategies or created a new strategy. Our list of strategies was not exhaustive, but we included the most common strategies found in the publications. Finally, we omitted publications that did not provide details about the change management strategies. Although many of these publications were highly cited and identified change implementation processes or phases, the authors did not identify a specific strategy.

Table ​ Table1 1 shows the 16 models and frameworks that we analyzed and the 15 common strategies that we identified from this analysis. Ackerman-Anderson and Anderson ( 2001 ) believe that it is important for process models to consider organizational imperatives as well as human dynamics and needs. Therefore, the list of strategies considers organizational imperatives such as create a vision for the change that aligns with the organization’s mission and strategies regarding human dynamics and needs such as listen to employees’ concerns about the change. We have presented the strategies in order of how frequently the strategies appear in the models and frameworks. Table ​ Table1 1 only includes strategies found in at least six of the models or frameworks.

Common strategies in the change management literature

A = ADKAR (Hiatt, 2006 ); AA = Ackerman Anderson and Anderson ( 2001 ); B = Bridges ( 1991 ); BB = Buchanan and Boddy ( 1992 ); BH = Beckhard and Harris ( 1987 ); C = Carnall ( 2007 ); CW = Cummings and Worley ( 1993 ); FB = French and Bell ( 1999 ); GE = GE CAP model (Neri et al., 2008 ; Polk, 2011 ); K = Kotter ( 2012 ); KSJ = Kanter et al. ( 1992 ); L = Lewin’s Three-step model (Bakari et al., 2017 ; Lewin, 1951 ); LK = Luecke ( 2003 ); M = McKinsey’s 7-S framework (Cox et al., 2019 ; Waterman et al., 1980 ); N = Nadler and Tushman ( 1997 ); PW = Pettigrew and Whipp (1993)

Strategies Used by Change Managers

We developed an online questionnaire to determine how frequently change managers used the strategies identified in our review of the literature. The Qualtrics-hosted survey consisted of 28 questions including sliding-scale, multiple-choice, and Likert-type items. Demographic questions focused on (a) how long the participant had been involved in the practice of change management, (b) how many change projects the participant had led, (c) the types of industries in which the participant led change implementations, (d) what percentage of job responsibilities involved working as a change manager and a project manager, and (e) where the participant learned to conduct change management. Twenty-one Likert-type items asked how often the participant used the strategies identified by our review of common change management models and frameworks. Participants could select never, sometimes, most of the time, and always. The Cronbach’s Alpha of the Likert-scale questions was 0.86.

The procedures for the questionnaire followed the steps suggested by Gall et al. ( 2003 ). The first steps were to define the research objectives, select the sample, and design the questionnaire format. The fourth step was to pretest the questionnaire. We conducted cognitive laboratory interviews by sending the questionnaire and interview questions to one person who was in the field of change management, one person who was in the field of performance improvement, and one person who was in the field of survey development (Fowler, 2014 ). We met with the reviewers through Zoom to evaluate the questionnaire by asking them to read the directions and each item for clarity. Then, reviewers were directed to point out mistakes or areas of confusion. Having multiple people review the survey instruments improved the reliability of the responses (Fowler, 2014 ).

We used purposeful sampling to distribute the online questionnaire throughout the following organizations: the Association for Talent Development (ATD), Change Management Institute (CMI), and the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). We also launched a call for participation to department chairs of United States universities who had Instructional Systems Design graduate programs with a focus on Performance Improvement. We used snowball sampling to gain participants by requesting that the department chairs forward the questionnaire to practitioners who had led at least one organizational change.

Table ​ Table2 2 provides a summary of the characteristics of the 49 participants who completed the questionnaire. Most had over ten years of experience practicing change management ( n  = 37) and had completed over ten change projects ( n  = 32). The participants learned how to conduct change management on-the-job ( n  = 47), through books ( n  = 31), through academic journal articles ( n  = 22), and from college or university courses ( n  = 20). The participants had worked in 13 different industries.

Characteristics of participants

( n  = 49)

Table ​ Table3 3 shows how frequently participants indicated that they used the change management strategies included on the questionnaire. Forty or more participants said they used the following strategies most often or always: (1) Asked members of senior leadership to support the change; (2) Listened to managers’ concerns about the change; (3) Aligned an intended change with an organization’s mission; (4) Listened to employees’ concerns about the change; (5) Aligned an intended change with an organization’s vision; (6) Created measurable short-term goals; (7) Asked managers for feedback to improve the change, and (8) Focused on organizational culture.

Strategies used by change managers

Table ​ Table4 4 identifies how frequently the strategies appeared in the models and frameworks and the rate at which practitioners indicated they used the strategies most often or always. The strategies found in the top 25% of both ( n  > 36 for practitioner use and n  > 11 in models and frameworks) focused on communication, including senior leadership and the employees in change decisions, aligning the change with the vision and mission of the organization, and focusing on organizational culture. Practitioners used several strategies more commonly than the literature suggested, especially concerning the topic of middle management. Practitioners focused on listening to middle managers’ concerns about the change, asking managers for feedback to improve the change, and ensuring that managers were trained to promote the change. Meanwhile, practitioners did not engage in the following strategies as often as the models and frameworks suggested that they should: provide all members of the organization with clear communication about the change, distinguish the differences between leadership and management, reward new behavior, and include employees in change decisions.

A comparison of the strategies used by practitioners to the strategies found in the literature

Common Strategies Used by Practitioners and Found in the Literature

The purpose of this article was to present a common set of change management strategies found across numerous models and frameworks and to identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these common strategies in practice. The five common change management strategies were the following: communicate about the change, involve stakeholders at all levels of the organization, focus on organizational culture, consider the organization’s mission and vision, and provide encouragement and incentives to change. Below we discuss our findings with an eye toward presenting a few key recommendations for change management.

Communicate About the Change

Communication is an umbrella term that can include messaging, networking, and negotiating (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992 ). Our findings revealed that communication is essential for change management. All the models and frameworks we examined suggested that change managers should provide members of the organization with clear communication about the change. It is interesting that approximately 33% of questionnaire respondents indicated that they sometimes, rather than always or most of the time, notified all members of the organization about the change. This may be the result of change managers communicating through organizational leaders. Instead of communicating directly with everyone in the organization, some participants may have used senior leadership, middle management, or subgroups to communicate the change. Messages sent to employees from leaders can effectively promote change. Regardless of who is responsible for communication, someone in the organization should explain why the change is happening (Connor et al., 2003 ; Doyle & Brady, 2018 ; Hiatt, 2006 ; Kotter, 2012 ) and provide clear communication throughout the entire change implementation (McKinsey & Company, 2008 ; Mento et al., 2002 ).

Involve Stakeholders at All Levels of the Organization

Our results indicate that change managers should involve senior leaders, managers, as well as employees during a change initiative. The items on the questionnaire were based on a review of common change management models and frameworks and many related to some form of stakeholder involvement. Of these strategies, over half were used often by 50% or more respondents. They focused on actions like gaining support from leaders, listening to and getting feedback from managers and employees, and adjusting strategies based on stakeholder input.

Whereas the models and frameworks often identified strategies regarding senior leadership and employees, it is interesting that questionnaire respondents indicated that they often implemented strategies involving middle management in a change implementation. This aligns with Bamford and Forrester’s ( 2003 ) research describing how middle managers are important communicators of change and provide an organization with the direction for the change. However, the participants did not develop managers into leaders as often as the literature proposed. Burnes and By ( 2012 ) expressed that leadership is essential to promote change and mention how the change management field has failed to focus on leadership as much as it should.

Focus on Organizational Culture

All but one of the models and frameworks we analyzed indicated that change managers should focus on changing the culture of an organization and more than 75% of questionnaire respondents revealed that they implemented this strategy always or most of the time. Organizational culture affects the acceptance of change. Changing the organizational culture can prevent employees from returning to the previous status quo (Bullock & Batten, 1985 ; Kotter, 2012 ; Mento et al., 2002 ). Some authors have different views on how to change an organization’s culture. For example, Burnes ( 2000 ) thinks that change managers should focus on employees who were resistant to the change while Hiatt ( 2006 ) suggests that change managers should replicate what strategies they used in the past to change the culture. Change managers require open support and commitment from managers to lead a culture change (Phillips, 2021 ).

In addition, Pless and Maak ( 2004 ) describe the importance of creating a culture of inclusion where diverse viewpoints help an organization reach its organizational objectives. Yet less than half of the participants indicated that they often focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Change managers should consider diverse viewpoints when implementing change, especially for organizations whose vision promotes a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Consider the Organization’s Mission and Vision

Several of the models and frameworks we examined mentioned that change managers should consider the mission and vision of the organization (Cummings & Worley, 1993 ; Hiatt, 2006 ; Kotter, 2012 ; Polk, 2011 ). Furthermore, aligning the change with the organization’s mission and vision were among the strategies most often implemented by participants. This was the second most common strategy both used by participants and found in the models and frameworks. A mission of an organization may include its beliefs, values, priorities, strengths, and desired public image (Cummings & Worley, 1993 ). Leaders are expected to adhere to a company’s values and mission (Strebel, 1996 ).

Provide Encouragement and Incentives to Change

Most of the change management models and frameworks suggested that organizations should reward new behavior, yet most respondents said they did not provide incentives to change. About 75% of participants did indicate that they frequently gave encouragement to employees about the change. The questionnaire may have confused participants by suggesting that they provide incentives before the change occurs. Additionally, respondents may have associated incentives with monetary compensation. Employee training can be considered an incentive, and many participants confirmed that they provided employees and managers with training. More information is needed to determine why the participants did not provide incentives and what the participants defined as rewards.

Future Conversations Between Practitioners and Researchers

Table ​ Table4 4 identified five strategies that practitioners used more often than the models and frameworks suggested and four strategies that were suggested more often by the models and frameworks than used by practitioners. One strategy that showed the largest difference was provided employees with incentives to implement the change. Although 81% of the selected models and frameworks suggested that practitioners should provide employees with incentives, only 25% of the practitioners identified that they provided incentives always and most of the time. Conversations between theorists and practitioners could determine if these differences occur because each group uses different terms (Hughes, 2007 ) or if practitioners just implement change differently than theorists suggest (Saka, 2003 ).

Additionally, conversations between theorists and practitioners may help promote improvements in the field of change management. For example, practitioners were split on how often they promoted DEI, and the selected models and frameworks did not focus on DEI in change implementations. Conversations between the two groups would help theorists understand what practitioners are doing to advance the field of change management. These conversations may encourage theorists to modify their models and frameworks to include modern approaches to change.

Limitations

The models and frameworks included in this systematic review were found through academic research and websites on the topic of change management. We did not include strategies contained on websites from change management organizations. Therefore, the identified strategies could skew towards approaches favored by theorists instead of practitioners. Additionally, we used specific publications to identify the strategies found in the models and frameworks. Any amendments to the cited models or frameworks found in future publications could not be included in this research.

We distributed this questionnaire in August 2020. Several participants mentioned that they were not currently conducting change management implementations because of global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because it can take years to complete a change management implementation (Phillips, 2021 ), this research does not describe how COVID-19 altered the strategies used by the participants. Furthermore, participants were not provided with definitions of the strategies. Their interpretations of the strategies may differ from the definitions found in the academic literature.

Future Research

Future research should expand upon what strategies the practitioners use to determine (a) how the practitioners use the strategies, and (b) the reasons why practitioners use certain strategies. Participants identified several strategies that they did not use as often as the literature suggested (e.g., provide employees with incentives and adjust the change implementation because of reactions from employees). Future research should investigate why practitioners are not implementing these strategies often.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed how practitioners implemented change management strategies. Future research should investigate if practitioners have added new strategies or changed the frequency in which they identified using the strategies found in this research.

Our aim was to identify a common set of change management strategies found across several models and frameworks and to identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these strategies in practice. While our findings relate to specific models, frameworks, and strategies, we caution readers to consider the environment and situation where the change will occur. Therefore, strategies should not be selected for implementation based on their inclusion in highly cited models and frameworks. Our study identified strategies found in the literature and used by change managers, but it does not predict that specific strategies are more likely to promote a successful organizational change. Although we have presented several strategies, we do not suggest combining these strategies to create a new framework. Instead, these strategies should be used to promote conversation between practitioners and theorists. Additionally, we do not suggest that one model or framework is superior to others because it contains more strategies currently used by practitioners. Evaluating the effectiveness of a model or framework by how many common strategies it contains gives an advantage to models and frameworks that contain the most strategies. Instead, this research identifies what practitioners are doing in the field to steer change management literature towards the strategies that are most used to promote change.

Declarations

This research does not represent conflicting interests or competing interests. The research was not funded by an outside agency and does not represent the interests of an outside party.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Contributor Information

Jeffrey Phillips, Email: ude.usf@spillihpbj .

James D. Klein, Email: ude.usf@nielkj .

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