Enablers that positively impact successful implementation of organizational change from the perspectives of OD practitioners

This study critically analyzes the enablers identified by Organization Development (OD) practitioners as being necessary for positive change to happen in organizations. Through semi-structured interviews with six OD practitioners from three organizations that elicit their subjective experiences of change initiatives, nine enablers were found that span across the three dimensions of content, context and process suggested in Armenakis and Bedeian’s (1999) Integrated Theoretical Framework. Under the content dimension, the enablers found are (1) perceived gap, (2) desired state and (3) consistency of change message. Under the context dimension, the enablers found are (1) addressing emotional responses, (2) trust and credibility, and (3) transformational change agents. Under the process dimension, the enablers found are (1) involving and engaging, (2) communicating, and (3) monitoring of change initiative. The research data also indicates that the interdependence of these three change dimensions increases the level of change recipients’ commitment towards successful implementation of change, and suggests that the intangible dimension of context, as compared to the tangible dimensions of content and process, is found to require more attention from OD practitioners in order for change to be successfully implemented.