Managing change initiatives: Fantasy or reality? The case of public sector organisations

It is becoming a commonplace statement that change initiative programmes are key

tools to organisational long-term success. To this end, the last two decades have witnessed a

surge of interest in the take-up of various change initiative programmes. Organisational change

initiatives, we are told by many commentators, can maximise shareholder value (i.e. economic

value theory) and develop organisational capabilities (i.e. organisational capability theory).

Specifically, in recent years, as companies have been confronted by the conditions of heightened

competition, globalisation, and advancements in communications and information technologies,

economic recession and a simultaneous search for excellence, so the desire to take up change

initiatives has interested the majority of leading organisations. At the same time, however, the

analysis of the prospects for the majority of change management tools reveals so many deepseated

barriers to change with the consequence of little success in practice. This article explores

this apparent contradiction, arguing that, despite a heightened interest in the take-up of change

initiatives, very few change programmes produce an improvement in bottom-line, exceed the

company’s cost of capital, or even improve service delivery. It also offers an explanation of why

this is the case. To provide empirical verification for this, the article presents the results of four

case studies conducted at public sector organisations in the UK. The findings continue to point to

the ineffective nature of the top management’s contribution to managing organisational change

programmes. Finally, using the case evidence, combined with previous research findings, the

article explores the implications for senior management of attempts to move from, as Mintzberg

(1999 : 146) put it, ‘direction and supervision towards protection and support’.