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Transformational leadership has been touted by several scholars as the real deal in necessitating organisational change. The approach encourages, inspires and motivates followers to be innovative and create change that necessitates growth and shapes organisational success. While several studies have confirmed that leadership plays a crucial role in effective change management, very few have gone further to identify the specific leadership style(s) necessary for effective change management. As such, the study sought to assess the influence of transformational leadership on organisational change in the mining industry with specific reference to ABC Mine in Zimbabwe. Guided by the interpretivism research philosophy and the inductive approach, the study adopted a qualitative research design where primary data was collected through semi structured interviews from 26 participants chosen through purposive sampling. The study found that transformational leaders act as key influencers in driving organisational change by fostering trust, inclusivity, and collaboration. It was also found that transformational leaders effectively address and mitigate employee resistance to change by fostering open communication and psychological safety. The study concluded that transformational leadership is effective and necessary in managing organisational change. The study also concluded that employee engagement and involvement, personalised employee relations and continuous training are key practices necessary for facilitating organisational change implementation.

This study examined the effect of organisational culture on employees' readiness towards change at two Eswatini state-owned enterprises. Guided by a positive research philosophy, the study adopted a quantitative, cross-sectional research design. Daya was collected from a stratified sample of 543 permanent employees using the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and the Readiness Toward Change Scale (RTCS). Reliability was assessed by using Cronbach's alpha, while confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple regression were employed to examine the relationship and predictive effects among the variables. The results revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between organisational culture and readiness towards change. Market culture emerged as the strongest predictor of readiness towards change, followed by hierarchical culture, Adhocracy culture, and clan culture. These findings suggest that performance orientation, structural clarity, adaptability, and relational cohesion jointly contribute to enhancing employee readiness for organisational change. From the business ecosystem and strategic management perspective, the findings highlight the importance of cultivating an adaptive organisational culture as a key enabler of sustainable performance, ethical governance, and stakeholder trust. At a broader socio-economic level, strengthening organisational culture and employee readiness for change within state-owned enterprises can enhance productivity, promote social equity, and support inclusive growth, reinforcing Eswatini's business and socio-economic ecosystem.

This study investigated responsible leadership influence on readiness for change in a South African state-owned enterprise. A quantitative research approach was used to conduct a cross-sectional study with a stratified random sample of employees in a South African state-owned enterprise. Participants completed the Responsible Leadership Scale (RLS) and the Readiness for Change Scale (RTCS). Standardised multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the influence of responsible leadership on readiness for change. The results showed that responsible leadership relates positively and significantly to readiness for change. Furthermore, responsible leadership influences willingness to change. This study emphasises the important role of responsible leadership in readiness for change. In addition, understanding the influence of responsible leadership on readiness for change can provide insight into the inner motives that drive teachers in difficult situations. The study can serve as a basis to increase staff readiness for change.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of organisational culture on employee attitudes towards organisational change in a South African state-owned enterprise. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a random sample (n = 373) of employees at a state-owned enterprise. The Organisational Culture Questionnaire (OCQ) and the Employee Attitudes to Organisational Change Scale were evaluated. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to determine the influence of organisational culture on employee attitudes towards organisational change. The findings indicate that organisational culture is related positively and significantly to employees' attitudes towards organisational change. Furthermore, the results indicate that organisational culture influences employees' attitudes towards change. The findings provide new evidence that an organisation that promotes positive organisational culture practices influences employee behaviour and attitudes positively towards organisational change in a South African government organisation.  

The purpose of this study is to explore the concept of change management, and employee engagement as a possible organisational turnaround strategy. This is owing to Organisations exist to deliver their strategic goal and objectives, this would amongst others ensure both technical and tactical strategical success. When organisations strategy is in shape there is a high rate of employee retention and recruitment of the best talent in the market. However, the organisations always faces a conundrum of having to tap in their organisational turnaround strategy which in most cases is marred with resistance from the employees. This study seeks to establish the extent to which change management and employee engagement can be adopted as key organisational turnaround strategy. The study adopts an interpretive qualitative design, and thematic analysis to organize dataset into relevant themes. Study recommends employer consultation and employee participation, facilitation, negotiation and agreement, and manipulation and coercion as a blended approach to effective organizational turnaround strategy. The value of the study is how a simultaneous use of change management and employee engagement can be used by global organizations for effective turnaround strategies.

Transformational leadership and employee change resistance have been studied extensively. However, no systematic attempt has been made to reframe those findings in light of leaders' inspirational drive. The sample size of 170 participants from eThekwini automobile dealership organisations indicated that employees' intention to resist change was negatively associated with their managers' transformational leadership style focused on inspirational motivation. Transformational leadership's impact on employee resistance to change at eThewkini Automobiles in KwaZulu-Natal is examined through a leader's inspirational motivation. Inspirational motivation reduced staff resistance to change at these car companies, according to the transformational leadership tool multi-leadership questionnaire (MLQ). Various branches of 6 major automobile companies in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa were considered for this study. The study included 170 of 270 individuals. Both descriptive and correlational analysis were employed to test study objectives. The study found that inspirational motivation mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and employee resistance to change because transformational leadership reduces resistance, improves commitment, and embraces change. Inspirational motivation mediates transformational leadership in organisational change management, according to the study. The study suggests that management use inspiring motivation to promote change management acceptability and commitment to change and reduce employee resistance to change.

The quantitative change management measurement for effective use, which consists of operationalized change drivers, dimensions and sub-dimensions for effective use of Examination Administration System (EAS) in the South African context, has been scarcely discussed in the literature. This paper intends to develop and validate a change management measurement instrument (CHAMI) to measure the effective use of EAS in South Africa’s (SA) Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. The CHAMI was developed drawing on the survey measurement instruments literature for change management and effective use and assessed quantitatively using data collected from 215 EAS users across all 318 TVET colleges from nine provinces of SA. The empirical results found the existence of construct validity of the CHAMI with 11 dimensions (i.e. user involvement and change recognition, user satisfaction, performance measurement, technology use, EAS adaptive use, EAS verification, user learning, transparent interaction, representational fidelity, informed action, and effective use) and 63 questions. Another contribution this study stems from the way the research constructs in a measurement model are operationalized as they incorporate measurement class (i.e. reflective or formative). This paper presents a CHAMI for effective use of EAS. In the future, management, researchers and practitioners can use the CHAMI to measure effective use, espouse or adapt instrument as an additional use measurement dimension on United Nations digital transformation programmes index or test it in different settings to advance its generalizability.

Events that unfolded in the past decade- the ease of new entrants into the South African banking sector, uncertain economic outlook, the 2008 global financial crisis, competition within the South African banking sector, have changed the retail banking landscape in South Africa. Retail banks are under tremendous pressure to realign their banking operations to meet these global challenges. Conforming to the mounting pressure in the South African banking sector, Barclays PLC a major shareholder in Barclays Africa Group now (Absa bank) announced its departure from the bank. A move that made it lose its strategic partner with over 100 years of experience working in Africa. The departure was received with mixed reactions across the banking landscape. Research on customer engagement in South African banking sector is still in its infancy and no study has been undertaken to determine the impact of customer engagement on organisational change communication during episodes of organisational change. To address this research gap, this study seeks to determine the impact of customer engagement on organisational change communication at Absa bank in the greater Durban area. The study adopted a quantitative research paradigm, with a pre-coded structured closed ended questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale administered to a target population of 650 000 Absa customers in the greater Durban area. Sekaran statistical table was used for sample selection. A sample of 384 customers was selected using convenience sampling a non-probability sampling technique. Some notable conclusions resulted from the extensive statistical analysis, which were also validated by national and international studies undertaken by various researchers, who also demonstrated concordance or discordance with the current findings and were appropriately referenced.

The effects of idealised influence as one of the four components of transformational leadership serve as a critical dimension of leadership style. Others include inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and gaining the admiration, trust, and respect of the followers. However, this study focuses on the context of employee resistance to change and its varying dimensions about the role idealised influence plays as a mediator in mitigating resistance to change and facilitating a successful change implementation at selected automobile dealerships in eThekwini Region of KwaZulu-Natal. Idealised influence refers to the leader’s ability to act as role model and gain the admiration of employees and by so doing, positively influence employee’s resistance to change. The study examines the effects of idealised influence on employee resistance to change at the automobile dealership organisations in the eThekwini Region of KwaZulu-Natal. The study investigates the mediating role of idealised influence on employee resistance to change at the automobile dealership organisations in the eThekwini Region of KwaZulu-Natal. Assessment was based on the effect of this leadership style component and its impact on employees’ willingness to accept or resist changes introduced at the selected organisations. Of the 270 staff members identified for participation, 196 questionnaires were returned and analysed using the convergent data analysis as well as the Structural Equation Model (SEM). The study revealed that the idealised influence is positively associated with the staff quick acceptance of change. The study improves the existing framework with regards to understanding how leaders with idealised influence can facilitate change management acceptance of employees by embracing and inculcating the essence of idealised influence. The results can help managers and change management interventionists formulate human resource development to improve change management planning programmmes.

Leadership is a core component of organizational management, but its functions are getting more complex with the increasing involvement of changes taking place in the world. As such, the complicated operation of managing cognitive rigidity as a form of resistance to change amongst employees is very critical. On the other hand, resistance to change is described as one of the impediments to organizational expansion due to its negative consequences. To cope with change, there is a need for an effective leadership style. This study focuses on the association between change leadership styles, i.e., transformational and transactional leadership styles with cognitive rigidity as a form of resistance to change. The study further seeks to investigate the impact of these leadership styles on employees’ resistance to cognitive rigidity at the selected automobile dealerships in the Durban Metropolitan Region of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Theories on change and leadership styles have been considered in this paper. A descriptive survey design was adopted to collect information from a stratified sample size using self-administered questionnaires to 170 staff at automotive dealerships in the metropolitan of Durban in South Africa. Pearson correlational and regression analysis were employed to analyze data. Results indicated significant correlations between these change leadership styles and cognitive rigidity as a form of resistance to change. However, the transactional leadership style revealed a more substantial possibility of increasing resistance to change. The study recommends that management practice the transformational leadership style to encourage employee participation in the decision, build confidence, accept constructive criticisms, effective communication and transparency, thereby reducing rigidity.

This paper evaluates the impacts of self-efficacy, employee attitude towards organizational change, Leadership 4.0, and perceived organizational support (POS) on employee acceptance of the organizational change (EAOC) within businesses in the 4IR era. The study’s sample was taken from ten (10) businesses in the Lagos and Oyo States of Nigeria. This paper applied a cross-sectional survey method, and questionnaires were randomly disseminated. However, out of the 250 questionnaires distributed, 246 were recovered, suitable for use, and analyzed with the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS version 28). This paper showed that self-efficacy, attitudes towards organizational change, Leadership 4.0, and perceived organizational support significantly, jointly, and independently influence the sustainability of employee acceptance of organizational change within Nigeria’s work organizations in the 4IR era. Work organizations are urged to provide training and exposure to higher responsibilities via delegation of authority. This would help employees within Nigeria’s business organizations gain better self-competence and serve as proof of organizational support, leading to accepting change without much struggle. They should also ensure that employees know the need for these changes in the 4IR era. Further, the management needs to train and support employees in dealing with the challenges inspired by the 4IR. Besides, the management should adopt a leadership style, such as Leadership 4.0, for the conditions and contests from the 4IR

Research has indicated that problems related to behavioral support for organizational change must be re-addressed to provide an improved implementation of changes. It is essential to explore factors for the complex implications of organizational change before implementing it in practice. This research aims to explore predictors of behavioral support for organizational change in Ethiopian commercial banks. In-depth interviews with purposive and convenient sampling techniques were conducted with employees (n=43) because qualitative research provides opportunities to explore employee experiences and get detailed information about how they perceive behavioral support for organizational change. This study used grounded theory and thematic analysis to explain behavioral support for organizational change and to establish a theoretical basis for further investigations. Our findings indicate that traditional predictors for behavioral support for organizational change might not be enough. This study suggested three new predictors: "perceived cost," "reward," and "prior change experience" to explore behavioral support for organizational change. The study tried to clarify organizational change drivers from employees' perspectives, which offered an alternative avenue that could provide the foundation for accepting organizational change.

Behavior change maintenance can guide the development and evaluation of interventions promoting sustained behaviors in organizational changes. This research aims to examine the factors that influence behavioral maintenance for organizational change in Ethiopian commercial banks. The study developed a comprehensive model to explain the mechanism of behavioral maintenance for organizational change by employees, using self-determination theory with two additional exogenous constructs, value congruence and excessive work demands. Applying mixed-analytical approaches, including SEM and fsQCA, advances the knowledge of how employees motivate to maintain their behavior regarding the organizational change. The target population consists of lower-level managers and 317 valid responses were retained for further analysis. In our findings, the SEM results reveal that perceived relatedness, perceived competency, perceived autonomy, and perceived enjoyment influence employees' behavioral maintenance for organizational change, the fsQCA results indicated that value congruence must always be combined in these variables. The findings suggested an alternative path that might serve as the basis for sustaining organizational change.

This study aims to assess the impact of communication adequacy on resistance to change at selected dealership companies in the Durban Metropolitan Region. Recent studies suggest that there could be various other factors that influence resistance including leadership skills, demographic factors and theoretical components of resistance to change. The study uses the non-random purposive sampling collected from 270 staff at selected dealership companies in the Durban Metropolitan Region using questionnaires administered to employees. The structural equation model was also applied in analyzing the data. The findings of the study show that there is a significant relationship between communication adequacy based on structure and channel efficiency in relation to resistance communication based on channel efficiency positively influencing resistance to change. The study further provides practical implications for the employees at the selected dealership companies to consider more strategic and appropriate communication tools.

Organizations today are in a dynamic state and in need to constantly change. This study aims to determine the mediating role of mindfulness in the relationship between perceived organizational support and individual readiness for change. This research was conducted by distributing questionnaires to 175 employees who work in service companies determined by the purposive sampling technique. The existing data is then processed using Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS 3.0 software. The results show that perceived organizational support has a positive effect on individual readiness for change, and mindfulness mediates the direct effect of perceived organizational support on individual readiness for change. Implications and suggestions for future research are also given.

This article assessed the impact of change management on employee performance with evidence from Nile University of Nigeria. This study made use of a descriptive survey research design. Burke Litwin model of organizational change was adopted for this study because the model explains the linkages between variables and individual and organizational performance. The population consists of 1,400 staff (Academic and Non-Academic) staff of Nile University of Nigeria Abuja. Stratified random sampling techniques were employed to select the sample size of 311 from the population. Regression analysis was used to analyze the data that was collected using a five-point likert scale structured questionnaire. The results showed that Change in organizational structure has a significance on the quality of employee service delivery in Nile University of Nigeria, there is a relationship between technological change and quality of employee service delivery in Nile University of Nigeria even though the relationship was not very strong. Leadership change significantly influences the quality of employee service delivery at Nile University of Nigeria. Human resource is an important internal strength of every organization and a source of competitive advantage, the study, therefore, recommended amongst others that organizations should communicate details of the change to the employees to minimize resistance.