TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose This study examined organizational change in universities as it relates to discomfort among the organization's members.Design/methodology/approach Using the critical incident technique (CIT), data was collected from the informants in an Indonesian public university that had been mandated by the government to enter the top 500 world university ranking. This would make it a “World-Class” university.Findings The findings describe the causes, courses and consequences of the discomfort felt in response to the organizational change in the university context. The causes of discomfort were categorized as a fear of loss, organizational culture, systems and policies, work overload and a lack of resources. Discomfort can manifest through negative affective, cognition and behavioral tendencies. Meanwhile, the consequences result in active and passive participation in the process of the organizational change itself.Originality/value Discomfort with organizational change is a new variable that has rarely been explored, thus it requires testing and validation using different methods and contexts, as offered by this study. We have also shown that in the initial stage of organizational change (unfreezing), discomfort will always emerge that must be immediately managed in order not to trigger resistance to change. Furthermore, this study exhibits the use of the critical incident technique in the context of organizational change. Finally, we offer comprehensive views by exhibiting the causes, the reactions shown and the consequences of discomfort with the change.
VL  - 34
IS  - 8
SN  - 0951-354X
DO  - 10.1108/IJEM-09-2019-0348
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-09-2019-0348
AU  - Nadia Fiona Niska Dinda
AU  - Sukoco Badri Munir
AU  - Susanto Ely
AU  - Sridadi Ahmad Rizki
AU  - Nasution Reza Ashari
PY  - 2020
Y1  - 2020/01/01
TI  - Discomfort and organizational change as a part of becoming a world-class university
T2  - International Journal of Educational Management
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 1265
EP  - 1287
Y2  - 2024/09/20
ER  -