Literature Review of Readiness for Change in Ethiopia: In Theory One Thing; In Reality Another
Readiness for change is defined as a cognitive precursor to resistance or as a support for a change effort. The main objective of this literature review is to explore readiness for change at the individual and organizational levels. It reviews publication
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Literature Review of Readiness for Change in Ethiopia: In Theory One Thing; In Reality Another Ermias Werkilul Asfaw
Abstract Readiness for change is defined as a cognitive precursor to resistance or as a support for a change effort. The main objective of this literature review is to explore readiness for change at the individual and organizational levels. It reviews publications to trace readiness for change. It provides a picture of the concept of readiness for change, explores and identifies the relationships between the readiness for change, individual change, and organizational change and the challenges of change. Dealing with the complex nature of change is the greatest challenge when following through and sustaining a change initiative. Leaning on institutional theory, it contextualizes the concept of readiness for change in Ethiopia.
Keywords Readiness Readiness for change Individual change Organizational change Institutional theory Ethiopia
1 Introduction Increasing global competition and changing political ideologies are some of the reasons for the accelerated rate of organizational change (Armenakis et al. 1999). Organizational change is considered unavoidable (Drucker 1999), and its rate is assumed to be constantly increasing. To cope with this global phenomenon, employees in organizations must be ready for change more than ever before. If people are not ready for change, they will resist it (Lewin 1945; Prochaska et al. 1994). If people resist a change plan, the planned change will not have a chance to
E.W. Asfaw (&) Management Department, College of Business and Economics, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia e-mail: [email protected] E.W. Asfaw Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping, Sweden © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 L. Achtenhagen and E. Brundin (eds.), Management Challenges in Different Types of African Firms, Frontiers in African Business Research, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4536-3_4
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succeed. The key question for change agents is how people get ready for change in their environment in a way that they are ready to implement effective changes in their organization (Walinga 2008). Readiness refers to an organization’s members’ change commitment and change efficacy to implement organizational change (Weiner et al. 2008, 2009). The ordinary definition of the term ‘readiness’ connotes a state of being both psychologically and behaviorally prepared to act (i.e., willingness and ability). Readiness for change is defined as ‘the cognitive precursor to the behaviors of their [employees] resistance to or support for change efforts’ (Armenakis et al. 1993: 681–682). Readiness for change embodies individuals’: (1) beliefs, attitudes, and intentions regarding the extent to which the change is needed, and (2) perceptions about the organization’s ability to deal with change under dynamic business conditions. Change refers to making something different from its initial position and involves confrontation with the unknown and loss of the fa
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