Emotions towards Change ‘‘A case of Northern Greek ICT Industry”

Abstract

Change is an inherent process in nature and life that ‘enacts’ physical, social and human effects. Relatively, in the field of social sciences,
organizational change consists of complex experiences, which ‘reflect’ the crucial role of psychological characteristics and emotions that
organizational members possess.
The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the nature of CEOs’ emotions towards strategic change. In this respect, it uses the wellknown
Dimensions of Emotions (PAD) questionnaire of Havlena and Holbrook (1986). This questionnaire captures three main dimensions of
emotions, namely pleasure, arousal and dominance. The paper, with the use of principal component factor analysis, verifies the existence of the
three dimensions that may influence the performance of CEOs. The research sample consists of 59 CEOs’ replies from ICT firms operating in the
area of Thessaloniki, Greece. Concluding, the paper discusses the importance of the three dimensions of emotions in CEOs’ strategic management
of change. It also proposes a number of implication tactics regarding the effective management of the environmental and organizational changes
that CEOs face.