Abstract
Over a period of 6 years, a South African pharmaceutical company had been
involved in several mergers and acquisitions. These changes had proved difficult for staff and
staff attrition had risen.
Research purpose: The objective of the study was to explore the perceptions of senior managers
about the impact of change on the psychological contract. The sub-objectives were to determine
what organisational factors contribute to changes in the psychological contract during periods
of change, and the implications of the breach of the psychological contract for the company
and its employees.
Motivation for the study: As the company was set to embark on further mergers and
acquisitions, the opinions of senior managers about how such changes should be addressed
are important for the company.
Research design, approach and method: A case study approach was used in this qualitative
study. The population comprised 60 senior managers of whom 12 were purposefully selected
for inclusion in the study. A semi structured interview schedule was used to capture the views
of these managers and themes were extracted by means of content analysis.