The development of change-supportive behaviour: A strong structuration study of planned strategic change

Kesselaar, Lawrence

The development of change-supportive behaviour: A strong structuration study of planned strategic change

Thesis / Dissertation

2026

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Graduate School of Business (GSB)

Faculty

Faculty of Commerce

Abstract

Organizations face significant challenges associated with digital transformation, particularly in maintaining competitiveness and adapting to technology-driven change. This study develops a practical process model to support highly activated change-supportive behaviour (CSB) during strategic change. Recent scholarship suggests that explanations of planned change failure often overlook deeper organisational structures. Taking a critical realist stance with abduction, the study applies strong structuration theory to build a process model of how CSB is structured over time during a planned change intervention, highlighting the key role of the deep structure of generalized worldviews of executives involved in the change process, which has previously been underexplored. The study was based on a recent case of digital transformation at one of the top five banks in Africa, a change effort that has been hailed as a benchmark. The study also identifies evidence-based practices for leading large-scale technology-driven change. Based on the seminal building blocks and deeper structures of planned change, the findings highlight four planned change accelerators that can enable organizations to apply change strategies that support a human centered digital transformation experience in interculturally diverse workplace environments.

Keywords

Digital Transformation

change-supportive behaviour (CSB)

Reference:

Collections

PhD / Doctoral

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