Resistance to organisational change: A case study in Sri Lankan construction organisation

Organisations frequently need to introduce changes in anticipation of future problems. Though a change process may be vital there often will be resistance to change processes from the individuals and organisations. Even though resistance to change is common, change initiators generally do not consider managing it effectively in order to make their efforts a success. Poorly managed resistance can wreck an organisation. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the nature of resistance when implementing a strategic level change in construction organisations of Sri Lanka. Case study approach was used to investigate the research question. A construction organisation that recently implemented change at strategic level was selected to study the nature of resistance. Data collection techniques were semi-structured in-depth interviews and participant-observation. The primary data were analysed by using content analysis and cognitive mapping techniques. The case study findings revealed significant reasons for the resistance to change in construction organisations and how these were handled in the case study organisation. The results and findings reported from this study will enable construction organisations to understand the nature of resistance and manage it effectively for successful strategic change implementation.