Abstract
Purpose – This paper examines the influence of change leadership on organizational culture and change management practices in public sector firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It also examines the mediating role of organizational culture on the interactions between leadership and change management programs in the organization. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical test of the hypotheses using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were applied to data collected from 210 middlemanagement respondents of public sector organizations in the UAE. Findings – The findings suggest that change-oriented leadership has a positive and significant direct effect on planned change (β = 0.20, p <0.01) and a positive and significant but indirect effect on planned change (β = 0.279, p <0.01) and emergent change (β = 0.262, p <0.01) change. Furthermore, hierarchical culture was found to positively and significantly impact directly on both planned (β = 0.480, p <0.001) and emergent (β = 0.245, p <0.01) change management in UAE public-sector service organizations. Practical implications - Based on the study’s findings, the role of the hierarchical culture in effecting change in UAE public-sector organizations provides new and significant insights into the research literature on organizational culture as regards change management issues and the challenges facing these organizations. Originality/value - The study makes a significant original contribution to knowledge on the management of organizational change in UAE public-sector service organizations. It has practical implications for managers and leaders confronting organizational change management in the UAE.
5. Conclusion
Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that change leadership positively and significantly impacts the three dimensions of organizational culture, clan, adhocracy, and hierarchy, as well as both dimensions of change management (emergent and planned change) in public sector organizations in the UAE. The findings also indicate that hierarchical organizational culture, in particular, plays a major positive role in emergent and planned change in UAE organizations. It was also found that the hierarchical, rather than the clan or the adhocracy, organizational culture positively and significantly influences change management in the organizations studied. However, the study did not find any significant impact of the clan culture and the adhocracy culture on either emergent or planned change management in the organizations. Furthermore, the results indicate a positive and partial mediation effect of hierarchical culture on the relationship between leadership and organizational change management.
