Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Richard R. Dool

Abstract

As many as two thirds of organizational change (OC) initiatives fail to achieve their outcome objectives. Researchers have demonstrated that successful change requires alignment among all levels of an organization. However, contemporary OC models do not quantify the degree of hierarchical alignment during the change process. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine whether the fractal dimension of hierarchical alignment (predictor variable) was associated with OC success (criterion variable) as described by the self-organizing fractal theory (SOFT). The research question addressed the association between the fractal dimension related to the alignment of OC beliefs and behavioral intentions across an organizational hierarchy and subsequent OC success. The instrument included creolization and change resistance themes to collect primary survey data through the self-selection of 125 North American aerospace workers who had participated in a formal change process. Pearson’s product-moment, Spearman rank, and Kendall’s tau correlation coefficients revealed a strong positive association between fractal dimension and OC success. Subsequent regression analysis reinforced the positive correlation and explained at least 56% of the observed variation in OC success. The results contributed to scholarly OC research by providing proof-of-concept demonstration that SOFT is applicable to OC research. This study also contributed to social change by creating measures that may lead to improved change management, resulting in less resource waste, lower employee stress, and improved change outcomes.

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