Developing an instrument to measure readiness for change in the German public sector -comparative study between civil servants and non-civil servants of the Deutsche Bahn AG

Oehlrich, Britta

Abstract

The aim of the study is to develop an instrument that can be used to gauge readiness for change on the individual level of civil servants and non-civil servants in the German public sector, exemplified by Deutsche Bahn Aktiengesellschaft. The instrument is based on existing readiness for change models and is extended by the concepts of Person-Organisation, Person-Job fit and need for security. Also, for the first time the relevance of the concept of Public Service Motivation in a German context is tested and its implication on the new instrument explored.
The underlying philosophical stance is that of a positivist. With the help of a monomethod approach, a web-based questionnaire is used to gather the quantitative data from 524 civil servants and non-civil servants at the Deutsche Bahn Aktiengesellschaft. The findings are obtained through descriptive statistics and statistical techniques.
A new instrument to measure readiness for change in the German public sector is presented. In addition, the results yield the antecedents - Person-Organisation fit, Person-Job fit and need for security - on readiness for change. For the first time, the existence of Public Service Motivation in Germany is proved while an impact on
readiness for change is denied.
The study advocates a better theoretical and practical understanding of the measurement of readiness for change in the German public sector. The findings confirm differences between civil servants and non-civil servants concerning their readiness for change level. It also reveals the existence of different subcultures within one company. The findings offer practical relevance for the human resource management, motivation factors and incentive systems with influences on the company culture and change behaviour and points out the necessity of an individual-oriented human resource function at the Deutsche Bahn Aktiengesellschaft.

Citation

Oehlrich, B. Developing an instrument to measure readiness for change in the German public sector -comparative study between civil servants and non-civil servants of the Deutsche Bahn AG. (Thesis). Edinburgh Napier University. Retrieved from http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/7561

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Feb 13, 2015
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: German public sector; civil servants; environmental changes; Deutsche Bahn Aktiengesellschaft (DB AG)
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/7561
• Award Date: 2014-09