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“Change or perish” has become a corporate mantra (Abrahamson, 2000). What happens when change becomes excessive? We define excessive change as when organizations pursue several seemingly unrelated and perhaps conflicting changes simultaneously, or when organizations introduce new changes before previous changes have been completed. When change is perceived as excessive, organizational members react in various ways. In this paper we draw on existing literature in strategy and management to theoretically develop the phenomenon of excessive change, ways of coping with excessive change, and organizational consequences of excessive change. Implications include how excessive change can be managed as well as suggestions for future research.

Two complementary objectives are addressed in this paper. First, several studies are introduced based on the assumption that organizational change is now excessive. The purpose of this paper is to propose an operational definition to change excessiveness, and the authors assess whether it is a generalized phenomenon at a societal level. Second, these studies are habitually mobilizing coping theories to address their purpose. However, an integrated model of coping, including appraisals and coping reactions towards change is still to be tested. Thus, the assessment is anchored in an application of the Stimulus-Response Theory of Coping (SRTC).

A quantitative study is conducted by administering questionnaires to a nationwide representative sample (n=1,002). Anderson and Gerbing (1991) two-step approach is used to validate the study and tests its hypothesized model. Change excessiveness is measured in order to observe if it is a generalized phenomenon in the working population. Its effects on coping are modelled through the fully mediated SRTC. Therefore, the hypothetical model predicted that the relationships between the perception of excessive change contexts and negative coping reactions is fully mediated by negative appraisals towards change contexts.

Perceptions of excessive change is a normally distributed and a statistically centralized phenomenon. As hypothesized, an structural equation modelling test of the SRTC shows a full mediation effect of negative appraisal between change intensity and negative coping to change.

This paper empirically tests a nationwide sample where organizational change may be too excessive for individuals’ positive coping. It is the first to generalize the observation of change excessiveness as perceived by employees to a nationwide level. Moreover, it addresses the gap between change excessiveness and coping theories in modelling the SRTC through its three components: event, appraisals, and coping reactions. Finally, it presents managerial discussions towards the strategic necessity for organizational change and its potential “too-much-of-a-good-thing” effects.

Change excessiveness is argued as a critical contextual aspect of change management. The purpose of this paper is to identify three major dimensions to change excessiveness: change frequency, extent, and impact. A three-factor structure is proposed to broaden the emerging study on the contextual aspects of change. Its pertinence is proposed in addressing healthcare employees’ exhaustion, change-related uncertainty, and support for change.

Using questionnaires, a first pilot sample (n=131) was recruited to test the psychometric properties and validity of the three-factor structure, while controlling for affectivity. Structural equation modeling techniques following a two-step approach were used on a second sample (n=363). First a confirmatory assessment of the three-factor structure of excessive change is tested. Second, a full mediation effect of excessive change, as a second-order latent factor, regrouping change frequency, impact and extent as first-order factors, was modeled to predict a tripartite conception of change-related reactions: exhaustion, uncertainty, and support for change.

The excessive change three-factor structure is validated, while showing its superiority over alternative models. The fully mediated model is confirmed. Therefore, the significant added effects of change frequency, impact, and extent are positively related to emotional exhaustion and cognitive uncertainty, while negatively related with behavioral support for change.

This study contributes by proposing a three-factor structure to excessive change assessment based on previous and independent findings in the literature. It also contributes in modeling the added effect of change frequency, extent, and impact in the full mediation relationship of change excessiveness on a tripartite reactions to change in healthcare management settings.

The purpose of this paper is to know how strategic change processes unfold over time and their potential consequences for firms. The study has two main objectives: to identify the actors involved; and to analyze the sequences of changes when a firm experiences strategic change.

To know the temporal sequence of strategic change is per se one of the most important questions of research in management. This is because it allows for a better understanding of how and why organizations change. The qualitative analysis – based on the existing literature on the change processes – aims to capture reality in flight and study long-term processes.

The study identifies strategic change’s essential patterns. It determines when it is appropriate to use these sequences to improve firm performance and it explains that reorganization of the senior management can produce strategic change. The results provide a greater understanding of the strategic change processes carried out by firms which will broaden the theory relating to this subject.

To know the strategic change circumstances and, over all, the sequence of the change process, could accelerate its implementation in a time when the speed is essential for the company competitiveness.

The paper studies strategic change like a process. The results provide a greater understanding of the strategic change processes carried out by firms which will broaden the theory relating to this subject. The study identifies strategic change’s essential patterns both incremental as radical. By identifying these sequences, it can define the what, how and why of change, and who is involved.

This chapter presents trailing research (TR) as an approach for studying organization change in real time. I argue that TR can contribute in bridging the practitioner-scholar divide as well as generating methodologically rigorous, theoretically strong, and practically relevant research. I contrast the method with more traditional ways of researching change, such as positivistic research and action research and discuss various phases of the research process by drawing on my own experience with TR. While the objectives of the research are more similar to action research, the role of the researcher differs from both action research and positivistic research.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the quality of change information influences employees’ attitude toward organizational change and turnover intention. Additionally, the role of engagement, psychological contract fulfillment and trust in the relationship between change information and attitude toward change is assessed.

In a technology services organization that was implementing a “new way of working,” questionnaire data of 669 employees were gathered. The organizational change in question sought to increase employees’ autonomy by increasing management support and improving IT support to facilitate working at other locations (e.g. at home) or at hours outside of regular working hours (e.g. in evening).

The results showed that change information was positively related to psychological contract fulfillment and attitude toward change. Engagement and psychological contract fulfillment were positively related to attitude toward change and negatively related to turnover intention. Contrary to what was expected, trust did not influence attitude toward change but was negatively related to turnover intention.

The study presents a model that can help management to foster positive affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses to change, as well as to reduce employee turnover. Fulfilling employees’ psychological contracts and cultivating engagement is important in this respect, as well as continuously considering whether information about the organizational change is received in good time, is useful, is adequate and satisfies employees’ questions about the change.

As one of the first studies in its field, attitude toward change was conceptualized and operationalized as a multidimensional construct, comprising an affective, a behavioral and a cognitive dimension.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the nexus between conditional exchange rate volatility and economic growth in BRICS countries. Further, the dynamic causation between economic growth and exchange rate volatility is also examined.

We employed three techniques, namely, dynamic panel models, static panel models and Dumitrescu and Hurlin (DH) panel causality test to examine the economic growth–conditional exchange rate volatility nexus in BRICS countries.

The overall results showed that conditional exchange rate volatility has a negative and significant effect on economic growth. Interestingly, the results showed that whenever the exchange rate volatility exceeds the 0–1.54 range, the economic growth of BRICS is reduced, on average, by 5%. Further, the results of the causality test reconciled with that of ARDL wherein unidirectional causality from exchange rate volatility, exports, labour force and gross capital formation to economic growth was found.

The urgent recommendation is to develop and align fiscal, monetary, trade and exchange rate policies, either through creating a common currency region or through coordinated measures to offset volatility and trade risks in the long run. Further, to offset the impact of excessive exchange rate changes, BRICS economies can set up currency hedging systems, implement temporary capital controls during periods of extreme volatility or create currency swap agreements with other nations or regions. Last, but not least, investment and labour policies that are coherent and well-coordinated can support market stabilisation, promote investment and increase worker productivity and job prospects.

Researchers hold contrasting views regarding the effect of exchange rate volatility on economic growth. Some researchers claim that exchange rate volatility reduces growth, and several shreds of empirical evidence claim that lower exchange rate volatility is linked with an increase in economic growth, at least in the short run. However, the challenge lies in establishing the optimal range beyond which exchange rate volatility becomes detrimental to economic growth. The present study contributes to this aspect by seeking to identify the optimal spectrum beyond which excessive shifts in exchange rate volatility negatively affect economic growth, or endeavors to define the acceptable spectrum within which these fluctuations actually boost growth. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to analyse the given research area. The present study used a dummy variable technique to capture the impact of permissible exchange rate band on the economic growth.

This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of independent directors based on the perspective of strategic control.

This is an empirical study carried out between 2007 and 2012 based on a sample of Chinese A-share-listed companies.

The results indicate that the departure of a CEO provides conditions for the new CEO to become empowered to carry out strategic change. The behavior of a new CEO results in the phenomenon of “a new broom sweeps clean” and increases the scope of strategic change. In addition, the results indicate that the board’s independence negatively moderates the relationship between the CEO’s succession and the scope of strategic change, and that independent directors are effective in supervising risk-taking behavior on the part of the CEO which ultimately results in damaging company performance.

The corporate internal and external supervisory mechanisms should be improved during the process of succession of a new CEO, and the effectiveness of the supervision of board directors should also be strengthened during the implementation of the strategic process of a new CEO.

Previous research on the effectiveness of independent directors mostly focuses on financial control, with a single leap from independent directors to corporate performance, which neglects the strategic control of independent directors. From the micro perspective of the strategic control process as a means of discussing the independent directors’ watchdog role, this paper extends and enriches the research on “the effectiveness of independent directors”.

Poor project knowledge and inadequate experience are frequently linked to construction time-cost overruns. This paper aims to expound on the criticality of project knowledge and experience in the successful delivery of projects in the construction industry.

Following a detailed literature review, a quantitative positivist approach with a questionnaire survey involving industry professionals is used to appraise the 30 prevalent causes of time-cost overruns according to frequency, effectiveness and importance indices. The data are then subjected to Spearman’s rank correlation tests and exploratory factor analysis.

Using the importance index, which assimilates both frequency and effectiveness indices, the criticality of knowledge and experience in the overall context is seen as fundamental for addressing the contractor’s faulty planning and scheduling, construction mistakes and defective work, site management and supervision, delayed/slow decision-making, incomplete drawings and design documents and change/variation orders. Spearman’s rank correlation tests indicate a good consensus of perceptions among the key parties involved. Next, an exploratory factor analysis uncovers six underlying knowledge-based factors affecting construction performance, relating to inaccurate resource estimates, design changes, resource shortages, lack of experience, incompetence and mistakes and defects.

The study draws out the repercussions of the hitherto limited research into the deficiencies in knowledge and experience in undertaking construction projects to enhance performance using knowledge management functions.

Organisations implement changes either to address real business imperatives or to follow trends in their industries. But frequent changes in an organisation often lead to employee change fatigue and change cynicism. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the change logic of appropriateness and the logic of consequences on change fatigue and change cynicism and the impact of change fatigue and change cynicism on change success.

To carry out this study, the authors collected data on a sample of 320 participants from diverse organisations, and they used structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques to test our hypotheses depicted in the research model.

The authors found that the change logic of consequences reduces both change fatigue and change cynicism, whereas the change logic of appropriateness increases change fatigue. The authors also found that change fatigue does not have any direct effect on change success, although it maintains an indirect negative effect on change success through change cynicism.

Along with other practical implications, the authors recommend that change managers help employees understand any logic of consequences that sustain their change initiatives. Additionally, change managers should work to prevent change fatigue from turning into change cynicism, which is the real precursor of reduced change success.

This study is among the first to show that employees experience change fatigue and change cynicism differently, depending on the reason underlying the change. It is also among the first to show that change fatigue does not affect change success directly but does so through the interplay of change cynicism.