Kinetic Solutions: Change management for company growth
Publication Type
Case
Publication Date
8-2025
Abstract
Established in 1975, Kinetic Solutions (KS) manufactured drives, devices that controlled the speed and direction of motors. In 2017, it was acquired by Japanese motors company Novatech Corporation (Novatech). Novatech aimed to be “The global leader for everything drive-related”, and had ambitious plans for KS. In 2018, the company hired Mateo Alvarez as Regional Sales Director to double its sales in two years. This target excited and terrified him as the company was suffering a negative 40% growth rate when he joined.
After visiting KS’s South and Southeast Asian (SEA), and Oceania offices, Alvarez realised that changing the company’s pervasive culture would take too long, and decided to start from scratch. The first thing that he did was to lay off all the salespeople across the offices. Next, he reprogrammed KS’s company culture, reorganised operations, hired employees who embodied the new company culture, whilst pruning away the clients that he felt had been “bleeding the company dry”. In three months, KS began seeing growth.
By 2024, Alvarez had not only exceeded his contractual targets, but was promoted to Vice-President of KS’s South and SEA, and Oceania offices. The company was seeing steady growth, had widened its geographic spread, and its employee morale reached an all-time high. As someone who actively sought out growth, Alvarez wondered if he could continue to instil the culture of passion and agility, as the company scaled new heights.
This case, suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students in business and management, will help students:
• Understand the importance of conducting cultural diagnosis
• Appreciate the impact of organisational culture on performance
• Recognise the role of leadership in cultural change
• Identify strategies of resistance to change
• Assess and choose appropriate change management strategies
The Kinetic Solutions case study (SMU-25-0019) can be taught in conjunction with the case supplement graphic novel version of the case study (SMU-25-0019 S).
Keyword(s)
Employee performance management, Change management, Organizational culture, Change agents, Growth strategy, Hiring strategy
Discipline
Organizational Behavior and Theory | Strategic Management Policy
Area of Excellence
Sustainability
Research Areas
Intelligent Systems and Optimization
Data Source
Generalised Experience
Industry
Machinery and equipment industry
Geographic Coverage
Singapore
Temporal Coverage
2024
Education Level
Executive Education; Postgraduate; Undergraduate
Publisher
Singapore Management University
Case ID
SMU-25-0019
Additional URL
https://ccx-shop.smu.edu.sg/products/kinetic-solutions-change-management-for-company-growth?variant=43083176181802
Comments
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The CMP Shop, please access the following link:
The links to purchase the case and supplementary materials on The Case Centre and Harvard Business Publishing is available via The CMP Shop.
SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case and supplementary materials on iNet with your SMU login ID and Password via The CMP Shop