The Impact of the Change Message through the Phases of Change to Influence Readiness for and Resistance to Change; Findings from an Outsourcing Case Study

Ever increasing global competition and the rate of technological innovation has meant that companies in the 21st century have to change and adapt on a continual basis in order to survive in this dynamic and evolving business environment. In a bid to simultaneously achieve cost reduction and increase IT capability, companies are increasingly choosing to outsource activities to achieve their business goals. However attractive on paper, outsourcing can lead to fundamental changes for an organisation and its employees. Consequently, it also generates many challenges for leadership within the organisation to succeed with these changes. The efforts and activities an organisation undertakes to bring employees through a change program are critical to the program’s success. These collective communication efforts and activities are referred to as the change message. Using a qualitative analysis of a case study, this dissertation explores how a company’s strategy for communicating this change message impacts on change resistance and readiness through the phases of change. Findings from this study have shown that additional considerations such as enhancing the communications strategy can result in a more seamless, less antagonistic, and ultimately an enhanced likelihood of a successful change program