Leading Organizational Change Globally : A study of the success factors for effectively driving change in a multicultural and international company

Abstract: Organizations face challenges in terms of costs and resistance when dealing with change. Global organizations face additional challenges with change when dealing with differences in national culture. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate organizational change in an international and multicultural environment. The aim was to discover how global companies can effectively drive change by analyzing perspectives, experiences, attitudes and values of change of employees of different nationalities and positions in a global company. Research questions such as: “What factors enable or prevent the implementation of organizational changes?”, “Which are the success factors for leading change in a global organization?”, “What are the challenges when it comes to leading change in a global organization?” and “Is there a difference in perspectives, attitudes, motivation and values towards change?” Were answered in this investigation. Semi-structured informant and respondent interviews as well as quantitative surveys were conducted. Analysis shows that factors affecting organizational change processes were dimensions of change, structure, time, support, change competencies, clarity and justifications for the change. Results showed that concern for human factors and global/ local awareness were success factors when leading change. Challenges identified included the delivery of a complete communication across the organization, adapting change approach to all cultures and an eagerness to create organizational changes. At last, results showed that respondents differed in perspectives, experiences and motivation for change. Statistical analysis proved that these differences were attributed to nationality but also to age and position. Finally, a discussion of results highlights the importance for organizations to understand and solve the dilemma of doing both, managing and leading change.