Cathryn Doney
people, technology, projects, change
Cathryn Doney

My Research

Navigating Employee Resistance to Organisational Change (original research)

Image of a man in a suit holding out his hand in resistance

Organisations increasingly need to adapt and respond to changes in the broader environment, such as changes in technology, increased competition from globalisation, and even unforeseen challenges like COVID-19. Yet many of the changes that organizations implement, such as changes in the strategy or IT, do not achieve their intended goals. These failures diminish the productivity, innovation, and sustainability of organizations. To a significant extent, these failures can be ascribed to the negative attitudes of employees to change, sometimes called resistance to change. Despite this, few studies have uncovered the conditions or practices in workplaces that will help change leaders measure and manage employee resistance to change, and particularly not in an Australian context.

This research addresses that gap. It identifies the precursors of employee resistance an present a practical model for organizations to effectively mitigate and manage such resistance.

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Organisational change in Australia – what works and what doesn’t (original research)

Image of two arrows, one pointing to the old way, the other pointing to the new way


This original research investigates the effectiveness of organisational change initiatives in Australian businesses. In a meta-analysis of case studies covering 6079 organisations, it seeks to understand whether some methods of organisational change and development (OC&D) are most effective than others, in a specifically Australian context. The study is set against the backdrop of Australia’s industrial and economic reforms, and examines various approach to managing change in Australian organisations against a theoretical framework that contrasts scientific versus behavioural management and contingency theory versus a ‘one best way’ approach.

Findings indicate about a 60% success success rate across the 6079 initiatives, with those aligning with behavioural management principles and contingency theory proving significantly more effective than those based on scientific management. The research highlights the uneven track record of OC&D in Australia and suggests that some methods are more conducive to successful organisational change. These insights are critical for organisations contemplating change.

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Psychological science