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<p>Strategic change projects allow companies to align their strategy to the turbulent external environment in today’s marketplace and are therefore crucial for retaining the competitive advantage of the firm. The identification of the critical success factors for these projects has become increasingly important, because of the reported high failure rates in the implementation of such projects. The important role of SMEs for the social and economic development of a country is well-known. However, SMEs as an area of study are not often discussed by researchers and an appropriate set of critical success factors for them is lacking. Therefore, it is vital to identify the critical success factors for the implementation of strategic change projects in SMEs to ensure the success of their efforts.</p><p>This study, which seeks to determine the critical success factors for the implementation of strategic change projects within the context of SMEs makes use of a multiple-case study strategy. The cases are based in two companies where semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to obtain the primary data required. The information retrieved from the selected cases was analysed using a qualitative approach. For the elaboration of the conclusion, an iterative process was followed, moving from the data collected, to the theoretical background and to the development of theory.</p><p>At the end of the study it was possible to identify a set of eleven critical success factors that answers the research question of this thesis. In addition, a conceptual model was derived from the theoretical and empirical studies of this work, outlining three dimensions that are considered to influence strategic change project success in the SME-setting. The present study would be beneficial to the practitioners of SMEs as the identified set of critical success factors can be used as a checklist of points to concentrate on when implementing strategic change projects. This will assist them in ensuring that the crucial factors and issues are addressed during implementation. For academics, the study contributes new knowledge to the field and offers a common language for discussing the critical success factors of strategic change projects in SMEs.</p>

Curriculum review projects ensure updated material that meets the needs of students and employers. Most projects report what was accomplished in terms of how the new curriculum will better meet these needs. Few studies have explored the curriculum change process from the faculty perspective. Few studies have explored the leadership of these projects, and very few studies have examined curriculum development processes in higher education from a faculty perspective. This case study allowed for in-depth exploration of the faculty experience of the curriculum development process, of the project's leadership, and of the perceptions of change held by faculty. Faculty members were interviewed about the project, and minutes from committee meetings as well as other departmental documents were used to triangulate faculty feedback to paint a comprehensive picture of the experience of these faculty development projects. First, the entire case study explores the range of responses faculty provided in their interviews. Themes that emerged included comments about the effectiveness of individual pieces of the program as well as extended discussion about the benefits of the opportunity to network among the committee about teaching and learning. Faculty reflected at length about the positive influence of the leaders and about their response to the amount of change required of them individually and of the department. Next, analytic induction of the interview data resulted in a match between the leadership data and transformational leadership. The leaders of this project used delegation to direct the energy of the committee, invited inclusive participation, and promoted a shared vision for the department. As successful change leaders, they were able to build on the existing relationships in the department to achieve more than they had originally planned. Finally, individual stories exemplify the experience of change for different faculty members. These exemplars demonstrate the full spectrum of response to change, from quick to join in to slow and even one faculty member who chose remove himself from the program. These individual cases explore the ways in which they have dealt with the innovation of curriculum change, changes in teaching and new ideas about assessment.

Strategic change projects allow companies to align their strategy to the turbulent external environment in today’s marketplace and are therefore crucial for retaining the competitive advantage of the firm. The identification of the critical success factors for these projects has become increasingly important, because of the reported high failure rates in the implementation of such projects. The important role of SMEs for the social and economic development of a country is well-known. However, SMEs as an area of study are not often discussed by researchers and an appropriate set of critical success factors for them is lacking. Therefore, it is vital to identify the critical success factors for the implementation of strategic change projects in SMEs to ensure the success of their efforts. This study, which seeks to determine the critical success factors for the implementation of strategic change projects within the context of SMEs makes use of a multiple-case study strategy. The cases are based in two companies where semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to obtain the primary data required. The information retrieved from the selected cases was analysed using a qualitative approach. For the elaboration of the conclusion, an iterative process was followed, moving from the data collected, to the theoretical background and to the development of theory. At the end of the study it was possible to identify a set of eleven critical success factors that answers the research question of this thesis. In addition, a conceptual model was derived from the theoretical and empirical studies of this work, outlining three dimensions that are considered to influence strategic change project success in the SME-setting. The present study would be beneficial to the practitioners of SMEs as the identified set of critical success factors can be used as a checklist of points to concentrate on when implementing strategic change projects. This will assist them in ensuring that the crucial factors and issues are addressed during implementation. For academics, the study contributes new knowledge to the field and offers a common language for discussing the critical success factors of strategic change projects in SMEs.

The purpose of this study was to document and assess the consequences of implementing employee involvement in a manufacturing setting. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study utilized information from various sources of data including archives, interview, and questionnaire data for a three to four year period. Time series comparisons were used. The results indicated that production increased initially, but then dropped back to original level. Quality of products increased and continued to improve gradually. The highest rate of improvement was observed in safety. An attempt was made to measure current level of commitment at the plant but was unsuccessful due to a low return rate of questionnaires. Overall, data collected partially support the hypotheses. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

Given the dynamic and unpredictable nature of modern business environment, organizations need to always be ready for change. It is essential for employees to be able to accept change initiatives at workplace and contribute to them constructively.  The authors of this research suggest that due to the similarities in the nature of their implementation process, projects are the most appropriate vehicle for implementing change initiatives. Change initiatives implemented through projects take characteristics of planned change and exclude emergent changes from the scope the scope of this research. The initiating phase of a change project is devoted to creating readiness for change, which is the main focus of the research. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of organizational culture in creating readiness for a change project. The research looks at the process of creating change readiness. This provides a ground for identifying the importance of organizational culture and its interconnection with change management efforts. Further, the dimensions of organizational culture are identified in the relation to change readiness. The literature suggests that these dimensions create change readiness. If organizational culture does not incorporate the identified dimensions of organizational culture, change management efforts should be applied to reinforce or create them. Eight interviews were conducted with change leaders/ project managers. Each interview was conducted in the context of a change project experienced by the interviewee, in order to gain an insight in to the influence of organizational culture on creating change readiness. The study finds organizational culture as being pivotal in creating change readiness. The insight taken from the empirical data allows differentiating between organizational culture as a whole and organizational culture created within the project context by change management efforts. It was found that organizational culture in its exclusivity, does not lead to readiness for a change project. Organizational culture rather builds a foundation for implementing change and creates readiness for a change project through mediation of change management efforts.

Positiva hälsoeffekter kopplade till kultur har lett till allt fler initiativ på temat kultur och hälsa inom inte minst vård- och omsorgssektorn. Syftet med föreliggande kvalitativa studie har varit att rikta fokus mot själva arbetet i sig med att implementera kulturaktiviteter inom en vård- och omsorgsverksamhet. Elva medarbetare med varierande roller inom en kommunal äldrevårdsorganisation har intervjuats kring sina upplevelser och erfarenheter av ett internt förändringsprojekt med målet att introducera vardagsnära och individanpassade kulturaktiviteter riktade mot de boende. Resultatet har analyserats med hjälp av tematisk analys. Studiens resultat identifierar både ett genuint engagemang men också tydliga hinder och utmaningar i projektet, både på individ- och organisationsnivå. Individens roll framstår som central i relation till en realisering av projektmålet. Både utifrån driv och motivation grundat i den egna övertygelsen kring projektets visioner och mål. Men också i relation till bristande engagemang och motstånd kopplat till bland annat osäkerhet kring projektets aktiviteter och rollkonflikter. Resultatet pekar också på en bristande samsyn kring formulerade målsättningar och realistiska förutsättningar att förverkliga projektresultatet ute i verksamheten, där tid- och resursbrist samt bristande struktur och uppföljning pekas ut som hindrande faktorer. En slutsats blir att organisationen har allt att vinna på att åstadkomma trygga team och en stödjande kontext som stöttar medarbetarna att agera självständigt och uppmuntrar till att våga utmana och ta risker i arbetet med kultur. Liksom att etablera tydliga strukturer för uppföljning och återkoppling kring genomförda insatser på alla nivåer för att skapa varaktigt lärande och engagemang. / Positive health effects linked to culture have led to more and more initiatives around culture and health not least in the health care sector. The purpose of the present qualitative study is to focus on the actual work itself of implementing cultural activities within a health care setting. Eleven employees with different roles within a municipal elderly care organization have been interviewed about their experiences from an internal change project with the goal of introducing individualized cultural activities for the residents on an everyday basis. The results have been analyzed using thematic analysis. The results of the study identify both a genuine engagement and clear obstacles and challenges in relation to the project, both at the individual and organizational level. The role of the individual appears central in relation to a realization of the project goal. Both from drive and motivation based on one's own convictions about visions and goals surrounding the project. But also, in relation to lack of commitment, and resistance linked to for example perceived uncertainty in relation to specific project activities and role conflicts. The result also points to a lack of consensus on formulated objectives and realistic conditions for realizing the project result in the actual setting, where lack of time and resources as well as lack of structure and follow-up are pointed out as hindering factors. One conclusion is that the organization has everything to gain from creating safe teams and a supportive context that supports autonomy and self-regulation in order to encourage challenge and risk taking in working with culture. And also establishing clear structures for follow-up and feedback around performed initiatives at all levels to create learning and commitment.

Den nya digitala miljön har kommit att påverka organisationer på alla nivåer. Digitala verktyg möjliggör effektivisering och förbättring av en organisations arbetssätt och processer. Det leder till att förändringsprojekt kopplade till digitalisering ställer nya krav på förändringsledning, och därmed kan tidigare tillvägagångssätt vid förändringsprojekt inte nyttjas fullt ut i den digitala eran. Syftet med den här studien är därför att förstå innebörden av förändringsledning vid förändringsprojekt kopplade till digitalisering. För att uppnå syftet undersöker studien innebörden av förändringsledning vid förändringsprojekt kopplade till digitalisering utifrån individers erfarenheter kring att ha medverkat eller lett sådana projekt. Som grund för studien presenteras en teoretisk förförståelse för områdena förändringsledning och digitalisering. Två valda teorier från respektive område beskrivs mer detaljerat och illustreras med tillhörande ramverk. Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsansats med en induktiv metod. Den bygger på sju stycken kvalitativa intervjuer med personer som har lett eller medverkat i ett förändringsprojekt kopplat till digitalisering. Dataanalysen innefattar sedan fem stycken teman som konstruerats utifrån ett förändringsprojekts process. Resultatet för studien presenteras i ett ramverk som förklarar innebörden av förändringsledning vid förändringsprojekt kopplade till digitalisering. Att förstå innebörden av förändringsledning kan öka insikten om avgörande faktorer under ett förändringsprojekts olika faser. Resultatet visar att förändring ska ses som en kontinuerlig process där medarbetarna står i centrum. / The new digital environment has come to affect organizations at all levels. Digital tools enable efficiency and improvement of an organization’s working methods and processes. Change projects linked to digitalization place new demand on change management, and thus previous approaches to change projects can’t be fully utilized in the digital age. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of change management in change projects linked to digitalization. To achieve the purpose, the study examines the meaning of change management in change projects linked to digitalization based on individuals’ experiences of participating in or leading such projects. As a basis for the study, a theoretical pre-understanding of the areas of change management and digitalization is presented. Two selected theories from each area are described in more detail and illustrated with their framework. The study has a qualitative approach with an inductive method. It is based on seven qualitative interviews with individuals who have led or participated in a change project linked to digitalization. Further on, the data analysis is based on five themes constructed based on a change project process. The results of the study are presented in a framework that explains the meaning of change management in change projects linked to digitalization. Understanding the meaning of change management can increase awareness of crucial factors during the different phases of the change project. The results show that change should be seen as a continuous process where employees are the most vital factor in order to succeed.

Digital communication advancements are constantly opening up opportunities for businesses to easily expand and collaborate across borders. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a situation where people have had to work remotely in a virtual setting which forced managers to adapt to a fully remote management approach. This is a single case study investigating how the industrial company Atlas Copco navigated through two global change projects, one executed in a semi-remote setting, and the other executed in a fully remote setting. The remote setting has made it difficult to build trust, and this thesis aims to increase the understanding of trust building in remote global change projects. This is a qualitative, single case study conducted with an abductive research approach. The data has been collected through interviews with representatives from the case company. The empirical findings show that people define trust differently, whether trust is built over time or exists from the start. The various definitions imply that there are consequences if people define trust differently. The thesis also highlights the importance of communication and support activities when building trust and what role the change management team had in this process. Factors affecting trust building are highlighted and mitigating aspects are presented.

An uncertain business environment and increased competition have resulted in change being an inevitable aspect for modern organizations. Therefore, it's important to understand what factors have the most impact on a change project's outcome. Previous research found that as much as 70 percent of change projects do not achieve the desired results. To address this issue, research has been conducted to establish factors that are important to operationalize independent of the change projects characteristics. However, the success rate of change projects is still low and contemporary research suggests how factors that are important to operationalize are influenced by change characteristics. This study examined the relationship between critical success factors and change characteristics through an individual case study of a change project. The method was qualitative and semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees at the case company. The study found that certain critical success factors established by prior research were not considered important for the change project's outcome, while other factors, including the respondents own suggestions, were considered crucial. The study also found that certain phases of the change project were considered more important than others.