Overcoming resistance to change in Saudi Arabian organizations: a correlation study between resistance to change and organizational justice

After 12 years of negotiation, Saudi Arabia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2005. The impact of joining the WTO has caused many Saudi organizations to change some of their old ways to keep up with competition from all around the world. Foreign investments created a healthy competition that encouraged Saudi Arabian organizations to change, adapt, and thrive in the market. With the need for change, Saudi Arabian organizations are facing employees’ resistance for unknown reasons. The purpose of this study was to analyze the reasons behind resistance to change in Saudi Arabian organizations and suggest approaches to minimize resistance and facilitate successful organizational change. Many researchers have found a relationship between organizational justice and employees’ behavior, especially during organizational change. Additionally, Saudi Arabian culture influences employees’ behavior towards change. Therefore, this correlational study examine the relationship between resistance to change and organizational justice, as well as the relationship between resistance to change and demographic measures in one Saudi Arabian organization. The scales that were used in this study are pre-existing and have been tested for validity and reliability. To measure resistance to change, the researcher used Oreg’s (2003) Resistance to Change Scale, which divides resistance to change into four factors (routine seeking, emotional reaction, short-term focus, and cognitive rigidity), and Colquitt’s (2001) Organizational Justice Scale, which divides organizational into four dimensions (distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational). A total of 55 completed surveys were collected with 76.4% male respondents, and 85.5% under the age of 40 years old, which showed how young and male dominant the workforce is in Saudi Arabia. The study concluded that the organizational justice dimensions of procedural and interpersonal justice have a negative significant relationship with employees’ resistance, especially the short-term focus factor. Moreover, from the demographic measures, the age factor also had a significant negative relationship with resistance to change, mostly with the short-term focus factor