The leading researcher, Dr Nicos Antoniades, Associate Professor at DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management (Author), together with the co-authors Dr Constantinos Constantinou, CIM-Cyprus Business School, Maria Allayioti, University of Southern California (USC), and Athanasia Biska, Adelphi University conducted a study on “Lasting Political Change Performance: Knowledge, Awareness, and Reinforcement”, with the summary of their research presented here. The revised paper is under review.
Our study adapts the Prosci ADKAR Model, a model that represents five tangible and concrete outcomes that organisations need to achieve for lasting change (i.e., Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement) and attempted to bring these elements to the political marketing of democratic governments.
It was hypothesized that each element of ADKAR has a positive relationship with the U.S. government’s change performance. Data were collected from U.S. citizens, aged 18 or over, and correlation analysis was used.
According to the findings of the study, Awareness, Knowledge, and Reinforcement were found statistically significant with a strong positive effect on the U.S. government’s change performance. Both in theory and practice, these determinants (Awareness, Knowledge, and Reinforcement) encourage political change and enable more productive communication between a government and its people. The influence of each determinant on a government’s management performance can either support or inhibit change depending on how the government influences its people’s behavior.
Antoniades and Haan’s study (2018) on enhanced political performance in the USA offered the basis to build the questions of the current study, which comprises a common procedure i.e., to adapt a study from a small country (Cyprus), to build the questions accordingly, and conduct another research in a bigger country (in this case, a superpower like the USA).
The results of the current study bridge an important gap in the general theory and practice of the political marketing of democratic governments and open great opportunities for further research. This case not only advances our understanding and debate within the topic area, but also provides democratic governments with an example on how to care (KARe) about their people; gain Knowledge (K) in order to create Awareness (A) among their citizens; and Reinforce (Re) their people.
Within this frame, a new model of lasting political change arises from this paper: the KARe Model of Lasting Political Change Performance (Knowledge, Awareness, and Reinforcement).
The study’s results could become an ideal framework for scholars and practitioners to examine the impact of KARe on any democratic government “change performance”. It could also open great opportunities for new research to test the relationship between the KARe Model and political change performance of politicians (as units), political parties, ministries, government departments, city councils, etc.
Every democratic government must gain Knowledge, create Awareness for its people, and Reinforce its people; KARe is a non-stop political process!
References:
Antoniades, N. & Haan, P. (2018). Facilitating Political Performance in the USA. Economics Bulletin. Vol. 38, No. 4, Pages 1762-1768.
Acknowledgement:
Special thanks to Dr Nicos Antoniades (Professor of Marketing and Political Marketing), Associate Professor, DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management, New York for his valuable feedback.
