Information technology change and employees' attitude: an empirical examination in small & medium Scale industries (SMI) in Ampara district

Abstract

The environment of an organization is significantly undergoing continuous, rapid changes that have far reaching effects on organizations and their management strategies. The significance of the study especially to business organization in SMI sector, which are proactive to changes in Information Technology, could be very high. SMI sector plays an important role in the economy of a country. This research focuses on two aspects: The organizational change option - Structure, Technology, Physical setting and the people in which the innovations in Information Technology (IT) as the most powerful change agent that create a big challenge for SMI sector and the importance of innovations in IT in SMI that need more and more innovative techniques in order to expand SMI sector. Many employees in developing countries such as Sri Lanka still seem dissatisfied with the available information and they are reluctant to accept the change so that they may leave the organization in due course. Retention of employees in SMI sector is the most important thing in order to maintain their survival in the industry. So, this research aims to study the employees' attitude towards IT change and the association of between coping with change and the employees' intention to remain in the SMI sector. Accordingly, the findings might be immense value to Small & Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, such as Sri Lanka, as much research has not been conducted in this regard.