Change Readiness : Exploring the Creation of Change Readiness Within Businesses for Change Towards Becoming More Sustainable

Abstract: Background: There is a growing consensus that our world is facing substantial global challenges which can have devastating consequences for both planet and people. The call for change is clear and to shift the unsustainable trends, there must be an involvement by everyone, including business. However, there is a high risk of change initiative’s failure and one of the main reasons have considered to be employee resistance. One solution to change resistance is suggested to be change readiness, which has not received as much academic attention. The question that remains is how businesses, which account for major negative impacts on both planet and people, can create change readiness.    Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore how change readiness is created in the context of changes initiated to develop more sustainable businesses.   Method: This thesis is a qualitative study with an exploratory nature where 21 interviews, representing 13 companies were conducted in order to collect the empirical data. Further, this thesis involves a comparative study of multiple case studies. Conclusion: The findings show that businesses are creating readiness for change towards becoming more sustainable by establishing various components including discrepancy, appropriateness, efficacy, principal support, personal valence and the affective component. These components are conveyed through the accompanying strategies, persuasive communication and active participation. Furthermore, education was found to be a strong influencer of change readiness for sustainable development. Nevertheless, change readiness as a concept is not consciously used by any of the companies represented in this thesis.