Critical Factors in the Successful Implementation of Strategic Change: Evidence from the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

High failure rates of change implementation have been a continuous challenge for researchers in the area of organisational change management. There is a strong need for research to identify factors that will help to reduce these failure rates, especially in the public sector. This study therefore attempts to respond to the call for more research into organisational change both in Western countries and in the Middle East in particular, by examining the roles of leadership, power and politics, organisational structure and organisational culture. This research study explores aspects of the relationships between these factors through the use of a case study involving the implementation of strategic organisational change in a public sector organisation in the United Arab Emirates, that is, the Abu Dhabi Police. A mixed-methods approach using a combination of questionnaire, interviews and documentary analysis was employed to gather data for the study. Analyses were performed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The findings provide evidence of the extent to which the public sector in the Middle East is dominated by a bureaucratic and transformational leadership styles, privilege of power, a mechanistic organisational structure and public sector's culture, which in turn affects the successful implementation of strategic organisational change in this context. While it was found that, in this context, leadership, power and politics, organisational structure and organisational culture are key factors which should be considered in order to implement successful change, the study also provides insights into the complex relationships that exist between these factors. On the basis of these results, issues and implications are identified which offer a contribution to the design and implementation of successful organisational change strategies in the public sector in the Middle East in general and the UAE in particular.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2010
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Christopher Rees (Supervisor)