This article challenges the individualistic paradigm dominating resistance to change research by examining whether established individual-level measures demonstrate validity in African state-owned enterprise (SOE) contexts, and what alternative conceptualisation better explains observed empirical patterns and their effects on sustainable public sector reforms. Adopting a critical realist philosophy, the study employed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test Oreg’s (2003) 17-item Resistance to Change Scale (RTCS) with 543 employees from two Malawian SOEs: Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) and the Southern Region Water Board (SRWB). The scale failed to meet psychometric adequacy (χ²/df = 18.07; RMSEA = 0.177; AVE = 0.449), explaining only 33.39 % of variance. From a critical realist perspective, this failure signals ontological misalignment: The construct of resistance as individual disposition does not align with Malawian SOE realities. We propose a preliminary conceptual framework operationalising systemic resistance through five dimensions, institutional memory of reform failure, power asymmetries, cultural norms constraining dissent, political economy constraints, and reform fatigue, each with observable indicators. The findings suggest replacing individual-focused interventions with systemic diagnostics to support the attainment of Malawi’s Growth and Development Strategy IV and related SDGs. This study contributes to decolonising change management scholarship by theorising resistance as a systemic phenomenon rooted in institutional history, power structures, cultural norms, and political economy, whilst providing a foundation for contextually grounded interventions in African public-sector reforms. These findings carry direct implications for MGDS IV and Sustainable Development Goals 6 (clean water) and 7 (affordable energy) in that when resistance is correctly diagnosed as systemic, interventions target institutional voids, political interference, and trust deficits, which offers the only realistic prospect for sustainable public sector reform in African SOEs.

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