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This research sets out to examine how the process for developing a training needs analysis tool could influence organisational change.

The organisation that is the subject of this research is a large, complex health system which is in transition from a traditional bureaucratic, hierarchy with a command and control management style to a more participative, people centred approach. A processual, organisation development, action research‐based approach to the development of a training needs analysis process was taken in the study so that the changes desired in the organisation could be modelled in the first instance and secondly, in order to learn and understand more about what works and does not in order to continuously develop and progress the change agenda. In order to do this a parallel structure was established through which to progress the process which was tracked in an action research process. In addition, a series of interviews were conducted with top and senior management in order to ascertain their views about the process, its necessity, roles in relation to it, its potential benefits and how to introduce the process across the organisation.

A number of key points emerged from the research: first, the culture and change issues arising during the development of the learning and development needs analysis process were very significant. Second, the development and piloting of the needs analysis process needed to be approached as a change management process. Third, linking the needs analysis process with existing organisational processes was a key factor in the success of the process and created a strategic dimension. Finally, in a large, complex organisation a balance must be struck between standardisation and customisation of the needs analysis process to allow for the different structures, subcultures and levels of readiness in the organisation.

This research highlighted the significant impact the dynamics of hierarchy and the legacy of a bureaucratic, autocratic system has on the way a system operates and how people react to change and participation.

Competitive advantage depends largely on the ability to activate and use organisational resources. As a result, the focus in the strategic management, organisational behaviour and human resource management literature has turned to the internal capabilities of organisations including a particular focus on employees' competencies. This paper seeks to analyse and discuss a forward‐looking, dynamic and proactive approach to competency modelling explicitly aligned with strategic business needs and oriented to long‐term future success.

This paper is based on a longitudinal research project sponsored by a leading Greek bank, currently undergoing fundamental corporate restructuring. This paper describes how the competency model was developed and how it facilitated strategy implementation and change by supporting communication, employee understanding of business goals, and the incorporation of new behaviours, roles and competencies in operations.

A forward‐looking and proactive approach to competency modelling is presented and discussed in the context of a large‐scale organisational change. The organisational core competencies required for a business to compete successfully in the banking sector are defined and discussed. The right mix of skills and behaviours that the individuals would need to possess in order to produce and support those core competencies is also analysed and discussed.

Traditional approach to competency management, which is analogous to job analysis, focuses on competencies of successful individuals, rather than on competencies that are needed to support an organisation to meet its short‐ or long‐term objectives. It is important to realise that there is a need to shift toward a forward‐looking and proactive approach to competency modelling and present a competency methodology that supports this need.

The shift towards virtual organisation is related with a fundamental change in organising and managing daily operations. The success of collaborative work therefore relies not merely on the introduction of different technologies, but also on critically analysing the “human” aspects of organisation. Virtual teams bring people together across disciplines, departments, functions, and geographical locations. This paper draws on the literature with respect to organisational change, and particularly results from human and organisational research carried out in the OSMOS (IST‐1999‐10491) project. Within the context of the OSMOS project, interviews with senior managers of each of the participating industrial organisations were conducted. From the analysis of these interviews four major organisational issues emerged, which virtual teams or e‐businesses need to address before moving forward. These are: information sharing, organisational culture and teamworking, acceptance of change and training. The paper investigates the above issues and explores potential solutions in order to support virtual organisations and e‐businesses in dealing with continuous change. From this investigation the paper proposes critical success factors that the authors believe to be necessary in dealing with such change.

This paper attempts to investigate the transformation in the role of the HR function in Greek firms, as a result of the use of internet and technology.

The paper is based on both quantitative and qualitative methodology. A survey and focus groups took place in order to meet research objectives.

This paper examines and discusses the development of e‐HR use in Greece and the reasons for adoption of e‐HR practices focusing on strategy, process and HRM issues. Findings show that e‐HR facilitates the transformation of HRM role into a more strategic one. Driving forces and critical success factors of e‐HR adoption and implementation are identified and discussed.

Limits its usefulness to countries that experience a stage of HRM professionalisation and technological development similar to that of Greece.

Identifies critical success factors in e‐HR adoption as well as main problems associated with it.

Qualitative results provided by the focus groups give an illustrative picture of the companies presented.

Although the role of organisational characteristics in the change process has been extensively analysed and discussed in the literature, individual characteristics, which are equally crucial for the success of change, have been neglected. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to add a different way of looking and working with organisational change by focusing on individuals’ emotions and personality traits. This paper explores how emotional intelligence and the “big five” dimensions of personality can facilitate organisational change at an individual level by exploring the relationship between these attributes and attitudes toward organisational change. The sample consisted of 137 professionals who completed self‐report inventories assessing emotional intelligence, personality traits and attitudes towards organisational change. The results confirmed that there is a relationship between personality traits and employees’ attitudes toward change. Similarly, the contribution of emotional intelligence to the attitudes to change was found to be significant, indicating the added value of using an emotional intelligence measure above and beyond the effect of personality. The practical implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the phases of a change project.

This paper aims to explore the role of organizational silence and trust on employees' attitudes in a post‐merger stage.

The results of two independent studies are presented; participants completed measures of organizational trust, organizational silence and merger attitudes (organizational commitment and employee satisfaction) a few months following the announcement of the merger. Hierarchical regression analyzes were used to explore the hypotheses.

The results show that organizational trust is negatively related to organizational silence and positively to merger attitudes. Further, the significant role of organizational silence in a post‐merger state was also identified through the negative relationships with merger attitudes, but mainly through the significant mediating effect of silence between organizational trust and merger attitudes.

The study used self‐report measures, but necessary actions were taken in order to reduce the effect of common method variance. Therefore, it should be cross‐validated with different research designs (e.g. longitudinal research) in other countries.

The findings provide further support on the significance of organizational silence in work settings, especially at major organizational turnarounds.

The most significant contribution of the study is that it explores for the first time the role of organizational silence in a post‐merger stage and its relationship to organizational trust.

Although the phenomenon of organisational silence is widely seen in organisations, there is little empirical evidence regarding its nature and main components. This paper aims at investigating the dimensions of silence climate as they are perceived by individuals and exploring the effects of these dimensions on job attitudes.

In a sample of 677 employees, three dimensions of silence climate are constructed and measured in order to examine their effects on employee silence behaviour, organisational commitment and job satisfaction.

Results indicate that supervisors’ attitudes to silence, top management attitudes to silence and communication opportunities are associated and predict employees’ silence behaviour. These three dimensions are also associated with organisational commitment and job satisfaction.

Although the phenomenon of organisational silence is expected in organisations, there is little empirical evidence in the literature aimed at defining it, analysing it and coping with it. Silence climate has an impact on organizations’ ability to detect errors and learn and, therefore, organizational effectiveness is negatively affected. This exploratory study aims to measure organisational silence as a continuum between silence and voice explain silence behaviour through organisational climate dimensions. Based on the findings of this study, there are some important implications that are discussed.