Despite the significant amount of change experienced by the public sector, there has been relatively limited empirical examination of how change agendas affect public sector employees in Australia. This article presents a comparative analysis of two Australian public sector organisations that implemented the same positive work change agenda, but experienced very different outcomes. Using a critical realist approach, we draw on a mix of qualitative techniques to suggest that textbook notions of ‘successful change’, which are often derived from large private sector expectations, may fail to capture the complex nature of how public sector change initiatives may unfold. In particular, we demonstrate how political, temporal, contextual, and process factors interact to shift change momentum. Illustrative examples are provided throughout and the findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theory building, for change facilitation, and for future research.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	organisational change, critical realism, qualitative research
Research Division:	Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Research Group:	Business and Management
Research Field:	Organisational Planning and Management
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
UTAS Author:	Bryant, M (Professor Melanie Bryant)
ID Code:	123800
Year Published:	2018
Deposited By:	TSBE
Deposited On:	2018-01-29
Last Modified:	2018-12-04
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