TY - JOUR AB - Purpose This paper aims to examine the influence of change leadership on organizational culture and change management practices in public-sector firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It also examines the mediating role of organizational culture on the interactions between leadership and change management programmes in the organization.Design/methodology/approach An empirical test of the hypotheses using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were applied to data collected from 210 middle-management respondents of public-sector organizations in the UAE.Findings The findings suggest that change-oriented leadership has a positive and significant direct effect on planned change (ß = 0.20, p < 0.01) and a positive and significant but indirect effect on planned change (ß = 0.279, p < 0.01) and emergent change (ß = 0.262, p < 0.01) change. Furthermore, hierarchical culture was found to positively and significantly impact directly on both planned (ß = 0.480, p < 0.001) and emergent (ß = 0.245, p < 0.01) change management in the UAE public-sector service organizations.Practical implications Based on the study’s findings, the role of the hierarchical culture in effecting change in the UAE public-sector organizations provides new and significant insights into the research literature on organizational culture as regards change management issues and the challenges facing these organizations.Originality/value The study makes a significant original contribution toward knowledge on the management of organizational change in UAE public-sector service organizations. It has practical implications for managers and leaders confronting organizational change management in the UAE. VL - 25 IS - 4 SN - 1934-8835 DO - 10.1108/IJOA-01-2017-1117 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-01-2017-1117 AU - Al-Ali Abdulla Ahmed AU - Singh Sanjay Kumar AU - Al-Nahyan Moza AU - Sohal Amrik Singh PY - 2017 Y1 - 2017/01/01 TI - Change management through leadership: the mediating role of organizational culture T2 - International Journal of Organizational Analysis PB - Emerald Publishing Limited SP - 723 EP - 739 Y2 - 2024/09/19 ER -