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IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL AND                                                 
CULTURAL CHANGE ON SOFTWARE 
ENGINEERS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 
IN 
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 
W.A.C.P Wickramanayaka 
Department of Computer Science & Engineering 
University of Moratuwa 
December 2009 
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IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL AND 
CULTURAL CHANGE ON SOFTWARE 
ENGINEERS 
 
 
By 
  
   W.A.C.P Wickramanayaka 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Computer Science 
& Engineering of the University of Moratuwa in partial fulfilment of the 
requirements for the Degree of MBA in Information Technology. 
 
Department of Computer Science & Engineering 
University of Moratuwa 
December 2009
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DECLARATION 
 
“I certify that this thesis does not incorporate, without acknowledgement, any material 
previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my 
knowledge and belief, it does not contain any material previously published, written or 
orally communicated by any other person or me, except where due reference is made 
in the text. I also hereby give consent for my dissertation, if accepted, to be made 
available for photocopying and for interlibrary loans, and for the title and summary to 
be made available to outside organizations” 
 
 
……………………………     ………………………….. 
Signature of the Candidate           Date 
 
 
 
  
To the best of my knowledge, the above particulars are correct. 
 
…………………………….                                               ………………………….. 
Dr. Buddhinath Jayatilleke           Date   
Supervisor              
 
 
 
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ABSTRACT 
         
This study performs an in-depth analysis of the impact of technology change and 
organizational culture change on Software Engineers. Software Industry is fast 
moving and rapidly changing. The knowledge workers interact with computers 
and attempt to model a real world scenario in intangible computer software. This 
process is not made easier by the evolution of software technology, new hardware 
and various process methodologies. Software Engineers today need to have the 
ability to grasp new technologies and make use of them. 
Culture of an organization is the heart of what employees believe in. 
Organizational culture is defined as a way of life characterized by certain sets of 
behavior, assumptions, beliefs and attitudes. It is found that the organizational 
culture has a significant impact on the organizational effectiveness and the 
success. 
The author presents an experiment and an analysis to find the impact of 
technological and cultural change on Software Engineers. This impact is studied 
in view of motivation and turnover intention of the Software Engineers. 
Hypothesis tests are performed in order to find the significance of this impact. 
The results of the study show that there is a positive effect from technological 
change on Software Engineer‟s motivation and a negative effect from culture 
change on Software Engineer‟s motivation. Technology change does not seem to 
have a significant effect on Software Engineer‟s intentions to leave the 
organization but when it comes to the change of culture there is a significant 
effect. The Software Engineers wish to leave their organizations if a culture 
change is more frequent. The study concludes with recommendations of best 
practises to follow when technological and cultural change is needed.  
 
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT  
 
First of all, I would like to give my acknowledgement to Dr.Buddhinath Jayatilleke. In 
the initial proposal itself he saw my research problem as an interesting area, 
encouraged and guided me from the start till the end. He was both flexible and 
genuine in stating his opinion on the work and motivated me. 
I would like to specially mention Mrs. Vishaka Nanayakkara and department of 
Computer Science for helping and guiding me along the path to completion of the 
research. If it‟s not for your patience and encouragement this would not be completed. 
I would like to thank my family and my friends for bearing with me all this time when 
I was not able to spend time with them. They understood the situation and encouraged 
me to finish the work.  I would like to acknowledge my parents, for encouraging me 
when I needed the most. 
Thank you, Damtih Pathirage for the support you have given me to find resources in 
order to do a successful literature review. I would also like to show my gratitude to 
Mr. Gayath Rathnayaka and Mrs. Shiroshika de Silva for the feedback given on my 
work and specially for stating their honest opinion.  
Last but not least to Deepthini Lanasakra for motivating me from the start till the very 
end. 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... i 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................. ii 
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. iii 
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... vi 
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... vii 
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 
1.1 Background .............................................................................................................. 1 
1.1.1 Introduction.................................................................................................... 1 
1.1.2 Motivation...................................................................................................... 2 
1.2 Research Topic ......................................................................................................... 3 
1.2.1 Problem Statement ......................................................................................... 3 
1.2.2 Research Objectives....................................................................................... 3 
1.2.3 Significance of Study ..................................................................................... 3 
1.3 Research Methodology ............................................................................................ 4 
1.4 Nature and Form of Results ..................................................................................... 5 
CHAPTER 2: LITREATURE SURVEY ....................................................................... 6 
2.1 Technology Change ................................................................................................. 6 
2.1.1 Technology change in general ....................................................................... 6 
2.1.2 Relationship of technological change with personal attributes ..................... 8 
2.1.3 Effects of technology change......................................................................... 8 
2.2 Cultural Change ....................................................................................................... 9 
2.2.1 Cultural change in general ........................................................................... 10 
2.2.2 Obstacles to change culture ......................................................................... 11 
2.2.3 Cultural dimensions ..................................................................................... 13 
2.2.4 Factors supporting change of culture in practice ......................................... 15 
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2.3 Motivation .............................................................................................................. 15 
2.3.1 Motivation in Software Engineers context .................................................. 16 
2.3.2 Motivation in detail...................................................................................... 17 
2.3.3 Effects of demotivation ............................................................................... 18 
2.4 Turnover Intention ................................................................................................. 19 
2.4.1 Effects of turnover intention ........................................................................ 20 
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 21 
3.1 Theoretical background.......................................................................................... 21 
3.1.1 Technology change dimension .................................................................... 21 
3.1.2 Cultural change studies in general ............................................................... 21 
3.1.3 Dimensions of motivation ........................................................................... 22 
3.1.4 Turnover intention dimensions .................................................................... 22 
3.2 Relationship of Variables ....................................................................................... 22 
3.3 Research Approach ................................................................................................ 23 
3.3.1 Conceptual framework................................................................................. 23 
3.3.2 Research Hypothesis .................................................................................... 24 
3.4 Research Design ..................................................................................................... 26 
3.4.1 Research Instruments ................................................................................... 26 
3.4.2 Operationalizing the variables ..................................................................... 26 
3.5 Sampling Design .................................................................................................... 28 
3.5.1 Sample size .................................................................................................. 28 
3.6 Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 28 
3.6.1 Interviews .................................................................................................... 28 
3.6.2 Questionnaire ............................................................................................... 29 
 
 
 
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3.7 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................... 29 
3.7.1 Checking the reliability of the Questionnaire .............................................. 29 
3.7.2 Descriptive analysis ..................................................................................... 30 
3.7.3 Statistical analysis ........................................................................................ 30 
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS .............................................................................. 31 
4.1 Reliability of the Research ..................................................................................... 31 
4.2 Descriptive Analysis .............................................................................................. 32 
4.2.1 Analysis of demographic variables .............................................................. 32 
4.2.2 Descriptive statistics of the constructs ......................................................... 34 
4.3 Statistical Analysis ................................................................................................. 42 
4.3.1 Relationship of technology change and Software Engineer‟s motivation ... 42 
4.4 Overall Results of the Study .................................................................................. 49 
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS .................................... 50 
5.1 Recommendations .................................................................................................. 51 
5.2 Limitations of this Study ........................................................................................ 53 
5.3 Further Research .................................................................................................... 54 
REFERENCES: ........................................................................................................... 55 
APPENDIX 1 ............................................................................................................... 60 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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LIST OF FIGURES 
 
 
Figure 2.1: Software Engineer motivators  .................................................................. 17 
Figure 3.1: Conceptual Framework ............................................................................. 24 
Figure 4.1: Working experience .................................................................................. 33 
Figure 4.2: Educational background ............................................................................ 33 
Figure 4.3: Type of the organization ............................................................................ 34 
Figure 4.4: Histogram of culture change construct ...................................................... 39 
Figure 4.5: Histogram of technological change ........................................................... 40 
Figure 4.6: Histogram of motivation construct ............................................................ 40 
Figure 4.7: Histogram of turnover intention construct ................................................ 41 
Figure 4.8: Media of staying up to date with latest technology ................................... 41 
Figure 4.9: Technology change against motivation ..................................................... 44 
Figure 4.10: Culture change against motivation .......................................................... 45 
Figure 4.11: Culture change against turnover intention ............................................... 48 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
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LIST OF TABLES 
 
Table 2.1: Obstacles of culture change ........................................................................ 12 
Table 3.2: Relationship of the questionnaire with conceptual framework .................. 27 
Table 4.1: Reliability statistics of constructs for the questionnaire ............................. 31 
Table 4.2: Descriptive of motivation ........................................................................... 35 
Table 4.3: Descriptive statistics of cultural change ..................................................... 37 
Table 4.4: Descriptive statistics of technological change ............................................ 38 
Table 4.5: Descriptive statistics of turnover intention ................................................. 39 
Table 4.7: Correlation between technology change and motivation ............................ 42 
Table 4.8: ANOVA report of technology against motivation ...................................... 43 
Table 4.9: Correlation between culture change and motivation .................................. 44 
Table 4.10: ANOVA statistics of culture change and motivation ............................... 45 
Table 4.11: Correlation of technology change and turnover intention ........................ 46 
Table 4.12: Correlation of culture change and turnover intention ............................... 47 
Table 4.13: ANOVA of culture change and turnover intention ................................... 48