The human side of change: Qualitative research on a public sector hospital merger

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Despite an increasing prominence on both psychological and human aspects of mergers, available literature is still largely focused on financial and market sides of mergers. Challenges associated with redesigning internal processes, building up new teams or change deep-seated routines - acquired over time - are often underestimated. Mergers can offer valuable evidence on how difficult it is to implement change. A comparative qualitative research was conducted in order to assess the merger of two public Portuguese hospitals under the scope of readiness for organizational change. Results indicated that, in such an early stage of change, employees from both hospitals seem supportive towards change, showing remarkable togetherness identifying the need for change. Hence, compliance with top management decisions was also found to be high. A linkage was found between organizational tenure and the perceived readiness for organizational change, such that nurses working for a shorter period of time at both hospitals displayed higher levels of uncertainty regarding the possible outcomes associated with the merger.