Organizational conflict as a predictor of employee resistance to change: Evidence from Saudi public-sector transformation

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Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Public-sector transformation initiatives often generate organizational tensions that influence employees’ reactions to change. Despite the growing importance of public-sector transformation programs, empirical evidence on the relationship between organizational conflict and employee resistance to change remains limited, particularly within the context of Saudi Vision 2030. This study examines the association between organizational conflict and employee resistance to change in Saudi public-sector institutions undergoing transformation. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed using data collected from 384 employees across Saudi public-sector organizations. The questionnaire was developed based on the organizational conflict and resistance-to-change literature and adapted to the Saudi public-sector context. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and simple linear regression. The findings reveal a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between organizational conflict and resistance to change (r = 0.612, p < .001). Regression analysis indicated a statistically significant positive association between organizational conflict and employee resistance to change (β = 0.612, p < .001), explaining 37.5% of the variance within the analytical model employed in this study. Significant differences in resistance levels were also observed across gender, age, years of experience, and job level. The findings suggest that organizational conflict represents an important factor associated with employee resistance during large-scale transformation initiatives. The study highlights the importance of effective conflict management, transparent communication, and employee involvement in supporting successful public-sector transformation.

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    • Figure 1. Conceptual framework
    • Table 1. Structure of the measurement instrument
    • Table 2. Reliability indicators
    • Table 3. Exploratory factor analysis summary
    • Table 4. Demographic characteristics of participants
    • Table 5. Descriptive statistics of organizational conflict (N = 384)
    • Table 6. Descriptive statistics of resistance to change (N = 384)
    • Table 7. Correlation results
    • Table 8. Regression analysis results
    • Table 9. Gender differences
    • Table 10. One-way ANOVA results for demographic characteristics
    • Conceptualization
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Data curation
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Formal Analysis
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Funding acquisition
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Investigation
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Methodology
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Project administration
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Resources
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Software
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Supervision
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Validation
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Visualization
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Writing – original draft
      Faiz Alfazzi
    • Writing – review & editing
      Faiz Alfazzi