A test of the evolution and predictive capacity of managers' interpretations of change

Abstract

The present study examines the extent to which managerial interpretations of change evolve as the change process unfolds and the extent to which such interpretations are likely to predict those of employees. This study provides a quantitative test of Isabella's (1990) model of the evolution of managerial interpretations of change. This study found some support for the existence of discrete interpretive tasks at each stage of the change process when respondents were asked to provide retrospective accounts of such tasks (as per Isabella, 1990). Thus, when managers attempt to make sense of an event that has occurred, they tend to associate specific tasks with particular stages of the event's implementation, i.e. they attempt to create order where, possibly, none exists. However, ‘real time’ accounts did not follow the hypothesized pattern of interpretive tasks. While a change event is in progress, managers appear to simultaneously perform a rich mixture of interpretations. They assess and evaluate the change event before it is complete; they attend to rumours throughout a change event; and they attempt to fit new information with their current knowledge base. In addition, managers' interpretations of change were, for the most part, not significant predictors of employees' interpretations.