Methodenkoffer für die Partizipation von Mitarbeitenden bei Veränderungsprojekten in der Logistik von österreichischen Maschinenbauunternehmen am Beispiel der ENGEL Austria GmbH

Abstract

The economy of the 21st century is shaped by topics such as climate change, globalization, and digitalization. Companies in general, and Austrian machine manufacturing companies in particular, face significant challenges as a result of these developments. To remain competitive in a volatile environment over the long term, continuous change is essential. In the optimization of business processes, logistics plays an important role due to its cross-sectional function throughout the entire company. Beyond the necessary change itself, the design of the change process must also come to the forefront. A key aspect of this design is the handling of employees. Considering the human factor can be seen as a central success criterion in change projects, and one possible way to address this is through employee participation in change initiatives. In terms of content, the thesis is structured into four chapters. The first two chapters provide the necessary basis for addressing the research topic. On one hand, the literature review develops the concept of employee participation in organizational change processes, on the other hand, it introduces logistics in the Austrian machine manufacturing industry. This is followed by a description of the survey conducted using a questionnaire among employees in the intralogistics department of Engel at the plant in Schwertberg, along with a presentation of the results. The purpose of the survey was to determine the importance of selected factors in the context of increasing acceptance of change. The quantitative approach was further enriched by incorporating a qualitative component through a workshop addressing the survey’s topics. Finally, the development of a methodology toolbox for employee participation is presented. The concrete results of the thesis can be distinguished on three levels. The findings from the survey show that a high proportion of employees regard participation-related issues as important. On a second level, the research provides the insight that a complex system, such as human collaboration or individuals themselves, cannot be categorized into universally valid patterns. Thirdly, on the methodological level, it is concluded that the complexity of the research topic would have benefited from a qualitative research approach to yield more indepth results.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Harald Jauschnig (Supervisor)