Change Efforts Research Articles

Opportunistic Change During a Punctuation: How and When the Front Lines Can Drive Bursts of Incremental Change

Environmental jolts can trigger more conducive conditions for driving change in organizations. However, punctuated equilibrium theories of organizational change concentrate on top managers’ implementation of de novo radical changes after jolts. Existing research has not examined frontline-driven, incremental change efforts during these periods of disrupted stasis, despite the value of frontline change ideas. We develop a process model to explain how and when those on an organization’s front lines can leverage a jolt to opportunistically implement long-desired change ideas in ways that promote their retention. We conducted a two-year qualitative field study at a hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic, examining the trajectories of 33 premeditated change ideas raised by frontline staff. By comparing ideas that persisted to become part of normal operations with those that failed to be selected or retained, we identified practices and conditions that promoted the selection and retention of frontline change ideas. Our study suggests that frontline change advocates can seed the long-term retention of “shovel-ready” ideas—as opposed to de novo ideas—after a jolt by rapidly and opportunistically deploying a novel set of practices before the brief window of opportunity created by lessened constraints and increased managerial receptivity closes. Prior theories of change largely assume frontline-driven change to be slow and continuous, proceeding in a one-off fashion; we explain how and when frontline change can instead occur in rapid, opportunistic bursts. This study advances theories of punctuated equilibrium and bottom-up change in organizations by unearthing an alternative way that change can be intentionally accomplished in organizations. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.15120 .

Breaking free from the invisible cage: Leveraging institutional logics to understand and facilitate organizational change projects

Organizational change projects suffer from a high failure rate. Extant literature identified structural inertia as the main cause of resistance to change. This structural inertia puts invisible shackles on organizations and makes the change process difficult or even pulls organizations back to their former state. However, it is still unknown how these organizations can be unchained. Drawing on an institutional logic perspective and based on an intriguing organizational change project of a state-owned company in China, we explored how institutional logic changes in organizational change projects. The results indicate that institutional change occurs through organizational deinstitutionalization, organizational institution building, and organizational reinstitutionalization across both individual and organizational levels. We developed a theory for successfully securing change efforts that relies on the level-crossing alteration of institutional logic that shackles employee behaviors. A model of institutional logic change is proposed to illustrate the organizational change carried out in the form of projects from an institutional logic perspective. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.

Upaya Peningkatan Perilaku Hidup Sehat melalui Program Community-Led Total Sanitation kepada Masyarakat Desa Tumpang, Malang

The practice of open defecation remains prevalent in Ledoksari Hamlet, Tumpang Village, Malang Regency. This behavior persists because open defecation has become a normalized culture or habit among the local community. Therefore, a change effort is needed through the implementation of the Community-Led Total Sanitation Approach by the Community Service Team of Universitas Negeri Malang. This program aims to educate the community about the impacts of open defecation. The method used in this program employs a triggering approach that directly involves the community, with stages including pre-triggering, triggering, and post-triggering activities. The outcomes of this initiative reveal an increase in participants knowledge regarding environmental health. Interactive discussions were also conducted by the service team to allow participants to voice their aspirations, which were then communicated to stakeholders. The service team further recommended the implementation of the "Arisan Jamban" program. This program encourages community members to organize activities that promote clean and healthy living behaviors within their environment. Aligned with the first pillar of the Community-Based Total Sanitation (STBM) initiative, which is to stop open defecation, the "Arisan Jamban" program can be utilized as a viable solution to reduce water source contamination.

Trends in the availability of comprehensive services within outpatient substance use treatment facilities from 2018 to 2022

ABSTRACT Background: Little is known regarding the extent to which substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities adopt comprehensive services to meet patients’ medical and social needs. Objective: To examine trends in the availability of comprehensive services within outpatient SUD treatment facilities from 2018 to 2022. Methods: We used data from the Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Tracking Repository, a national database of SUD treatment facilities (n = 13,793). We examined the availability of four domains of comprehensive services and four types of SUD treatment services from 2018 to 2022. We conducted bivariate and multivariate logistic regression predicting the availability of a comprehensive service model (defined as having at least one service from each service domain), controlling for organizational and community characteristics. Results: Comprehensive services were increasingly offered from 2018 to 2022. In unadjusted and adjusted models, facilities which were externally accredited (OR: 1.50; 95%CI: 1.30–1.74), accepted Medicaid (OR: 1.51; 95%CI: 1.30–1.74), performed community outreach (OR: 2.05; 95%CI: 1.80–2.33), provided naloxone and overdose education (OR: 3.50; 95%CI: 3.06–3.99), had a robust SUD treatment infrastructure (OR: 2.33; 95%CI; 2.08–2.62), and were located in a county with a lower percentage of White residents (OR: 0.99; 95%CI: 0.99–0.99), a higher percentage of residents in poverty (OR: 1.02; 95%CI: 1.00–1.03), and the Northeast compared with the South (OR: 1.21; 95%CI: 1.01–1.45), had significantly higher odds of adopting a comprehensive service model. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of factors reflecting experience with organizational change efforts and enhanced external support. Policymakers working to enhance the uptake of comprehensive services should focus on obtaining the financial and technical support necessary to develop these models.

A self-assessment maturity matrix to support large-scale change using collaborative networks in the New Zealand health system

BackgroundA maturity matrix can be a useful tool for organisations implementing large-system transformation (LST) initiatives in complex systems. Insights from implementation of a local LST initiative using collaborative networks, known as Alliances, highlighted a tool was needed to help health system leaders prompt discussions on how and where to focus their change efforts. In the New Zealand (NZ) health system, Alliances were introduced to integrate the planning and delivery of health care between primary and hospital care.MethodsThe aim of this research was to use insights from Alliance members to develop a learning tool that collaborative networks could use to assess and improve their readiness for change. We constructed a maturity matrix using the knowledge of senior NZ health system leaders, in a workshop setting. The maturity matrix was empirically tested and refined with three Alliances and with feedback from the NZ Ministry of Health Māori Health Strategy and Policy team.ResultsThe maturity matrix described the 10 key elements that had been found to support successful implementation of LST initiatives in the NZ health system, along with success indicators and different stages of maturity from beginning to excellence. Testing of the maturity matrix with three Alliances suggested that it functioned as a learning tool and stimulated collective thinking and reflection. The Māori Health Strategy and Policy team commented on the importance of such a tool to increase health system leaders’ responsiveness to improving Māori health outcomes. Comparisons with similar international matrices revealed common elements with ours. A strength of our maturity matrix is that it is specific to the NZ context and is the first practical tool to implement large-scale change in the health system that incorporates principles of the Government’s treaty with Māori, the indigenous people of NZ.ConclusionsThrough a regular self-assessment process, use of the maturity matrix may create feedback loops to support deliberate learning and knowledge sharing for senior health system leaders and collaborative networks. The maturity matrix fills an important gap in the NZ health system and contributes to implementation science literature internationally.OtherThis study was approved by the Victoria University of Wellington Human Ethics Committee (Ethics Approval Number 27,356). The research was supported by the Victoria University of Wellington research grant (222,809) and from the University of Auckland Department of Medicine research fund (H10779).

Alcohol use and its associated factors among Ethiopian military personnel

BackgroundStudies indicate that alcohol use is more prevalent in the military and that such use is related to coping mechanisms for stress. Alcohol use could result in health and social...

Job Satisfaction and Change Readiness: Moderating Role of Gender

Failing to assess employees' readiness for change can lead managers to waste significant time and effort managing resistance. This time could otherwise be spent productively. This study attempts to make a rigorous empirical examination of the effects of job satisfaction on change readiness along with assessing the moderating role of gender. The primary collection of data is done through likert scale and were analyzed by using IBM SPSS statistics version 23. On the other hand, the secondary data were taken from the articles, journals and website. Through a simple and dummy indicator regression analysis of the variables, it talks about the analysis's findings, which show that job satisfaction had a positive and significant impact on change readiness. This study implies that the value of coefficient of multiple determination is 0.299 which implies that the variation in CR can be explained by JS was 9.9%. Similarly, gender was no moderating the effects of job satisfaction on change readiness shown by the dummy indicator regression analysis. While acknowledging that there is no established theory describing the relationship between these two major constructs in organizational behavior, this study attempts to provide some of the empirical support that there was positive significant association between job satisfaction and change readiness. This study determined the value of R is to be .547a. This paper includes with the number of implications and research direction for both academic and organizational managers, Job satisfaction plays a critical role in determining employees' readiness for change, with higher satisfaction leading to increased acceptance and enthusiasm for change efforts.

Utilizing organizational ambidexterity to implement long-term technical change in fast-paced manufacturing settings

PurposeIn this paper, we focus on how and when organizations adopt different types of ambidexterity to facilitate projects that operate with fundamentally different time scales compared with the dominant functions of the organization.Design/methodology/approachUsing a comparative case study design, four case studies were conducted of long-term projects in two similar manufacturing plants within the same organization.FindingsWe found organizations first use structural and sequential ambidexterity in change efforts, during which new process knowledge is developed. When structural and sequential ambidexterity are not viable, change agents use this developed knowledge to support contextual ambidexterity. This contextual ambidexterity allows change agents to move between distinct time conceptions of event time and clock time.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the limitations of this study was that it only focused on two plants within one organization in order to control for variation. Future studies should look at a wider range of companies, technologies and industries.Practical implicationsWhile structurally and temporally decoupling change efforts help with differentiation of new technological change, there are limitations with these efforts. It is important to build an organization’s contextual ambidexterity as well as organizational supports to facilitate switching between clock time and event time.Originality/valueThis paper helps explain how and when organizations use different types of ambidexterity in resolving temporal conflicts when implementing longer-term technological change in fast-paced manufacturing settings.

Israel's civil society 2023 from protest to aid provision - a serving elite perspective.

The year 2023 in Israel started with illiberal constitutional change efforts by the new right-wing government and concluded with a brutal attack by Hamas terrorists and the subsequent war. Both occurrences galvanized two massive surges of civil society activism. The first was a mass protest that impeded the government's undemocratic legislation. The second was a large-scale mobilization to support a variety of populations affected by the war, providing services and goods that supplanted the failed governmental crisis response. Using a Serving Elite perspective and elaborating on this concept in the Israeli context, the paper analyzes the organizations that transitioned overnight from protest to service delivery. While these are two known roles played by civil society in general, such a transition from protest to support within the same organization is unusual, if at all existent. The paper analyses nineteen (19) in-depth interviews with leaders of 10 prominent organizations active in the protest and the aid phases. It explores their participants, forms of organizing, activities, ideologies, and interconnections, particularly emphasizing the transition. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed the emergence of a new Serving Elite in the making, liberal in orientation, and developed during the crises. This perspective provides an opportunity to highlight processes deeply embedded in Israel's social, political, and cultural landscapes, changing elites and power relations, and Israel's culture of entrepreneurship. It also provides a framework for analyses of serving elites in other countries.

Temporal shifts in the phytoplankton network in a large eutrophic shallow freshwater lake subjected to major environmental changes due to human interventions

Phytoplankton communities are crucial components of aquatic ecosystems, and since they are highly interactive, they always form complex networks. Yet, our understanding of how interactive phytoplankton networks vary through time under changing environmental conditions is limited. Using a 29-year (339 months) long-term dataset on Lake Taihu, China, we constructed a temporal network comprising monthly sub-networks using “extended Local Similarity Analysis” and assessed how eutrophication, climate change, and restoration efforts influenced the temporal dynamics of network complexity and stability. The network architecture of phytoplankton showed strong dynamic changes with varying environments. Our results revealed cascading effects of eutrophication and climate change on phytoplankton network stability via changes in network complexity. The network stability of phytoplankton increased with average degree, modularity, and nestedness and decreased with connectance. Eutrophication (increasing nitrogen) stabilized the phytoplankton network, mainly by increasing its average degree, while climate change, i.e., warming and decreasing wind speed enhanced its stability by increasing the cohesion of phytoplankton communities directly and by decreasing the connectance of network indirectly. A remarkable shift and a major decrease in the temporal dynamics of phytoplankton network complexity (average degree, nestedness) and stability (robustness, persistence) were detected after 2007 when numerous eutrophication mitigation efforts (not all successful) were implemented, leading to simplified phytoplankton networks and reduced stability. Our findings provide new insights into the organization of phytoplankton networks under eutrophication (or re-oligotrophication) and climate change in subtropical shallow lakes.

Designing Equitable Worlds: Six Orientations to Evoke the Future

Abstract This article proposes that designers can enhance and extend the efforts for social change by transforming concepts of equity and justice into material, informative, and interactive experiences. The framework introduced here outlines six orientations for evoking future outcomes in the present moment. These orientations stem from a synthesis of techniques from disciplines with varying perspectives on world-building (rhetoric, theology, political science, and art). It identifies multiple ways to evoke the future in the present. Shared and iterated through a series of workshops in racial justice contexts, the framework offers a structure for advocates to recognize how they are already building better worlds and how they can translate future visions into near-term communication pieces that engage people in their mission.

Citizen perceptions of Great Lakes coastline change and management efforts

Fluctuating water levels, nearshore flooding and associated coastal erosion present management challenges for coastal communities around the world. Along the Great Lakes, integrated coastal zone management efforts involve a complex array of people and institutions, which include citizens of coastal communities. At this point in time, there are few studies focused on community members' perceptions of and views on current management efforts on the Great Lakes. To address this need, the present study analyzes survey data from the public and six Great Lake communities with three objectives in mind. One, to understand perceptions of the causes of coastline change and the hazards associated with these changes. Two, to understand the consequences of coastline change for people and the greater community. Three, to understand citizens’ viewpoints about different strategies for managing coastline changes and the parties responsible for managing the coastline. Study results indicate conflicting perceptions between community members about common coastline management efforts (e.g. armoring, beach nourishment, and setbacks). They also indicate a general lack of knowledge about the complexities and responsible parties for coastline management, which in some cases, may be individual property owners themselves. The results of this study suggest efforts to educate citizens may be critical for future stewardship of the Great Lakes, which requires community partnerships and buy in to be successful.

Workplace menstrual health in the private sector: Results from a pilot study in Kenya and Nepal

ABSTRACT Menstrual health (MH) efforts have not focused on challenges experienced by working adults. For individuals who identify as women, managing one's periods outside the home is especially difficult when working in male-dominated workplaces. In response, USAID Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Partnerships for Learning and Sustainability implemented four workplace interventions in Kenya and Nepal to improve MH conditions, promote women's economic empowerment, and garner support from company leadership for workplace MH programs. Over 9–11 months, interventions focused on (i) menstrual products and WASH infrastructure; (ii) workplace policy environment; and (iii) education and behavior change. Pre–post, mixed methods evaluations revealed that awareness and confidence regarding MH increased in all workplaces. Improved access to menstrual products increased women's comfort and lowered anxiety. In both countries, improved toilets and reduction of supervisory barriers to toilet use during working hours helped women employees to change products regularly. Changing the social and institutional workplace environments through policy recommendations, education and behavior change efforts increased social support and reduced menstruation-related stigma, leading to improved work performance and job satisfaction. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of implementing workplace MH programs and improving working conditions for menstruating employees in pursuit of economic empowerment and better business outcomes.

Bad Habits that Stick: An Investigation into Adhesive Medical Tape Use Practices and Beliefs

Background: Medical tape is one of the most ubiquitous resources in the hospital. Although tape is advertised by manufacturers as a single patient-use item, half-used rolls are a common sight in hospitals. Tape is often manipulated by un-sanitized and ungloved hands and comes in close contact with patient skin. Medical tape has the potential to be a source of hospital-acquired infection as it has been documented to be colonized with pathogens ranging from MRSA to Rhizopus. Despite infection risk, currently the only clinical guidelines of tape use are outlined in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services guidance for Hemodialysis patients issued in 2008 that requires “tape should be dedicated to a single patient and discarded after use” as hemodialysis patients are at higher risk of infection. However, there is a lack of standards in the practice of tape use across hospital systems. Methods: To understand the current practices and beliefs of tape use at our institution, we developed a standardized survey to query individuals from various roles (RN, Physician, Patient Care Technicians, respiratory therapists, phlebotomists) across all patient care areas at a 746-bed academic, tertiary care center. Results: 52 units were surveyed, including 225 employees. Qualitative analysis revealed a wide variety of uses for medical tape for patient care, with venipuncture, securing IVs, and wound dressings being the most common. Only 1.4% of individuals reported single use of tape rolls. 54% of individuals reported tape use behaviors that carry an elevated risk for inoculation of pathogens. 70% of individuals reported that tape was discarded after the patient was discharged from their respective area. These practices did not change across procedure-heavy areas such as the Emergency Department or the Operating Rooms, in fact only 22% of individuals surveyed reported single use of tape in these areas. Beliefs about tape use varied: 95% of individuals agreed that a roll of tape could be used multiple times on a single patient, and 52% of individuals agreed that a roll of tape could be used on multiple patients. Conclusions: Tape use practices varied across hospital units, indicating the need for standardized policies for tape use and storage. Beliefs about tape not being a single-use item were consistent across the hospital and suggest that education and culture change efforts are needed to decrease the risk for hospital-acquired infections from improper medical tape use.

Ecological Sovereignty: Beyond State Sovereignty and Legal Responsibility

One of the current global issues and challenges is anthropogenic climate change. Anthropogenic climate change refers to changes in the global climate system primarily caused by human activities, especially greenhouse gas emissions. The norm of state sovereignty as the highest authority, characterized by territorial boundaries and the right to non-intervention by other authorities, is inadequate for addressing the global and non-linear nature of climate change efforts. This research employs a qualitative approach, conducting an in-depth analysis of literature. Literature analysis is a systematic method for analyzing electronic records and written texts to obtain scientific information. The conclusion of this study is that there is a need for a construction of sovereignty that transcends territoriality and anthropocentrism. Sovereignty should be constructed as ecological responsibility based on an equal consensus of the international community.

New perspectives on multiple fuel use: Energy flexibility in household cooking solutions in Tanzania

There is a tendency to approach multiple fuel use mainly as a problem. This has limited how it is understood and addressed. This article uses a mixed-methods approach to advance understandings of multiple fuel use. We apply social practice theory to analyse multiple fuel use through a survey (n = 354) and 32 qualitative interviews in peri-urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We find multiple fuel use with charcoal to be common, mostly in combination with LPG. Cooking solutions are combined in a complementary manner for their material qualities, but also by social factors. Multiple fuel use enables effective use of different energy types, saving money, coping with low and fluctuating incomes, and securing household energy supply. Flexibility also helps women navigate time constraints and multiple responsibilities, cook for larger families, maintain food culture, and make nutritious food affordable. Characteristics such as income level and variability, housing type, family size and children's age, are analysed as social differences influencing cooking patterns. We find multiple fuel use to be more than simply “stacking” of new fuels: it is an expression of competence and innovation. Efforts for change must build on holistic understandings of people's lived realities and should acknowledge their competent ways of manoeuvring difficult life conditions to a greater extent. Continued use of polluting cooking solutions through multiple fuel use is a barrier to clean energy transition, but solutions are more likely to succeed if recognising the multiple reasons and benefits from practicing multiple fuel use, rather than focusing on its negative impacts.

Leveraging Power: A Multiple Embedded Case Study of Institutional Change Efforts for Racial Equity at Four Private Universities

ABSTRACT Despite research signaling the need to advance racial equity in university policies and practices, power dynamics in institutional change processes are not well understood. Using a constructivist embedded multiple case study design, critical theoretical perspective, and explanation-building technique, we analyzed how four private institutions with demonstrable change in student success and closing racial equity gaps in graduation rates enacted diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts over the last 5 years. Findings led to understanding how institutional agents synergistically used strategies in two phases: one, advocates, partnerships and coalitions, and capacity-building; second: resources, assessment, and accountability.

From stigma to solutions: harnessing local wisdom to tackle harms associated with menstrual seclusion (chhaupadi) in Nepal

In Nepal, menstrual practices, and particularly chhaupadi, impose restrictive norms affecting women’s daily lives. Chhaupadi is a tradition that involves isolating women and girls during menstruation and after childbirth, along with following other restrictions, which have physical and mental health implications. To date, interventions have yet to fully and sustainably address harms associated with chhaupadi across the country. This two-phase study conducted in Dailekh, Nepal facilitated the development of community-created solutions to mitigate chhaupadi’s adverse impacts on women’s health. Using Human Centred Design and a community-engaged approach, the discovery phase identified key stakeholders and contextualised chhaupadi, while the subsequent design phase facilitated the development of five community-created interventions. These included leveraging female community health volunteers (FCHVs) for counselling and awareness, targeting mothers to drive behavioural change, engaging the wider community in behaviour change efforts, empowering fathers to catalyse change at home, and training youth for advocacy. The FCHV intervention concept was selected as the most promising intervention by the women co-design team, warranting broader exploration and testing. Additionally, while it is imperative for interventions to prioritise tackling deleterious aspects of chhaupadi, interventions must also acknowledge its deep-rooted cultural significance and history and recognise the positive aspects that some women may wish to preserve.

The role of school leader support on teacher’s engagement during intervention implementation

ABSTRACT Teacher engagement in the implementation phase of educational interventions has been demonstrated as fundamental to the success of an intervention. However, less is known about what resources or processes can support teacher’s work engagement at this critical time period. In this study, we investigated the role of school leader support on teacher engagement during the implementation of a complex co-teaching intervention for literacy improvement. Data were collected from 150 elementary classrooms from 53 municipalities in southern Norway. Grounded in the Job-Demands Resource model, we used structural equation modeling to investigate associations between leader support, teachers’ perceived usefulness of the co-teaching intervention, and teachers’ work engagement. Contrary to our hypothesis, school leader support was not directly associated with teachers’ work engagement. However, school leader support was positively associated with teachers’ perceived usefulness of co-teaching, and the perception of usefulness was positively related to teachers’ work engagement. In summary, the perceived usefulness of co-teaching fully mediated the association between leader support and teachers’ work engagement. These findings suggest that effective school leaders should inquire and prioritize about teachers’ belief systems when launching change efforts. Ideally, we recommend that teachers be part of the conversation and decision-making in the early stages of interventions.

Flushing Out Homeowner Perceptions to Improve Voluntary Septic to Sewer Conversion With Social Marketing

Background Septic systems are recognized as a contributor to water quality degradation. Septic to sewer conversion programs are being implemented to mitigate nutrient pollution but success of voluntary programs is dependent on homeowner participation. The purpose of this study was to identify elements of potential social marketing strategies that could advance the voluntary adoption of septic to sewer conversion programs. Focus of the Article This study used formative survey research to assess residents’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceived benefits of and barriers to septic systems conversion in Florida, USA to inform future interventions promoting this major, costly home infrastructure change that reduces wastewater nutrient contamination. Research Question This study attempts to answer the following questions: (1) Does septic system conversion status (mandatory vs. voluntary) influence homeowners’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceived benefits and barriers to septic to sewer conversion? (2) What social marketing variables are the best predictors of attitude about septic to sewer conversion? Importance to the Social Marketing Field In contrast to inexpensive, repeated habits which are the target of many social marketing campaigns, costly one-time behaviors have been minimally explored by social scientists and social marketers. This study demonstrates how social marketing research can be applied to advance the adoption of costly, one-time infrastructure improvements, with septic to sewer conversions serving as the study context. There are substantial opportunities for social marketers to support local government and other organizations in their promotion of major technologies, including, but not limited to septic system conversions. Methods 518 adult Florida residents who were also septic system owners completed an online survey instrument that assessed subjective and objective knowledge, attitudes about septic to sewer conversion, and motivators and barriers to conversion. Results Septic system homeowners are largely supportive of septic conversion programs; however, the greatest perceived benefits are personal and not associated with environmental improvements. Despite many septic to sewer conversion projects being initiated for environmental purposes, behavior change efforts should promote the benefits of conversion as perceived by the homeowner. The primary barrier is the upfront cost, and alternative funding structures should be investigated. Recommendations for Research or Practice This study indicates that target audience outreach is an essential component of the environmental planning process. Considering the costs and complexity of water quality infrastructure projects, environmental management professionals should consider a robust audience-specific social marketing program as part of the implementation and planning process. The findings presented here suggest opportunities for social marketers to partner with environmental management professionals tasked with encouraging septic to sewer conversion or other costly and significant one-time behaviors.