Managing organizational change in transition economies

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer a personal reflection on the Romanian post‐communist transition, using an organization theory‐based analytic framework combined with the author's personal experience.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on the authors' experience in Romania during the transition (policy implementation, evaluation projects, and research). The experience is captured using concepts from institutional, organizational change, and critical theories.FindingsTransition economies offer unique settings for building theory that describes the dynamic events situated at the boundary between institutions and organizations. Although this potential has yet to be realized, knowledge can be captured by using less conventional research designs, a critical perspective, and creative concepts and approaches.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper has potential implications for researchers conducting studies in transition economies, or in otherwise dynamic environments. The author provides several examples that are not well explained by existing frameworks and models, and offers suggestions for possible designs that might be more appropriate in transition settings.Practical implicationsBoth autochthonous and foreign practitioners might find the examples and the analytic framework informative and applicable to the problems they are faced with in transition economies.Originality/valueThe paper combines conventional and critical theory‐based approaches to the study of the Romanian transition. Authors interested in research at the institution – organization boundary can consider some of the suggested for formalizing their research.