Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Branford J. McAllister

Abstract

This study addressed the factors that predict employee response to large-scale change in the United States pharmaceutical industry. When poorly executed, major organizational changes such as mergers and acquisitions are often disruptive and costly to organizations and demoralizing to employees. Although employee responses to change have been studied in several industries, employee responses during change execution in the pharmaceutical industry have not been subject to study. The purpose of this correlational study was to reduce the knowledge gap related to organizational change in the pharmaceutical industry by evaluating key predictors of employee response to large-scale change. The theoretical framework consisted of transformational leadership, stakeholder, and change management theories. The research questions focused on 4 key predictors (initial change reaction, change communication, involvement in change development, and perceived change success) and their effect on 2 primary dependent variables: reaction to change (RC) and support of change (SC). Ninety-eight participants completed the survey and multiple regression was used to measure associations between predictor variables and dependent variables. The 4 independent variables in the aggregate predicted RC and the championing subscale of SC. Individually, none of the independent variables predicted RC, SC, or any of the SC subscales. The study contributes to positive social change by providing leadership with information in guiding creation of a supportive work environment during organizational change and to inspire employees developing medical innovations to fulfill global health needs, while creating skilled jobs and generating profit.

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