Factors impacting and restricting organizational change: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Research aims to identify factors impacting and restricting organizational change. In this research, we conducted a systematic literature review. Two research questions were identified: RQ1: What are the factors impacting organizational change? RQ2: What are the factors restricting organizational change? Two online databases including EBSCO and Emerald Management were selected as the main sources for the research. Research inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected. To match identified keywords with the published research and relevant literature, keywords were used to search through the selected databases (organizational change, factors impacting change, factors restricting change). Results: From the review study, 12 primary scientific studies were identified presenting factors impacting and restricting organizational change. Main factors impacting organizational change were identified: commitment to change, employee education, employee inclusion, communication, change management, leadership; and factors restricting organizational change: leadership, communication, change management, resistance to change. The research is significant in that it systematizes the factors impacting and restricting organizational changes analysed in different sources of scientific literature and provides a list of the main factors.