Research In Organizational Change Research Articles

Coping Strategies of Professionals in Emerging Change Processes: An Empirical View

The overarching theme of this special issue is the study of organizational change processes from the perspective of the individual participant of change. This type of study is particularly relevant because of the increasing awareness of the crucial role played by professionals in current society. Three different studies show how and why individuals cope with change processes imposed upon them in different sectors (media, employment programmes, schools) and different countries (Sweden, Ireland, Italy). The professionals in these studies either re-worked (Norbäck et al.), re-constructed (Mulhall) or re-activated (Cicotto et al.) their altered work contexts in a manner that is acceptable, useful and often even profitable to the professional workers. Our special issue shows that flexibility and coping strategies are important and dynamic mechanisms that play a crucial role in the current organizational change research.

Discourse phronesis in organizational change: a narrative analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how discursive practices are involved in organizational change. Design/methodology/approach – This research scrutinizes organizational change by combining discourse and practice approaches. A case study at a public university hospital is conducted with a narrative analysis method. Findings – The key finding of this research is that discursive practices are involved in organizational change through discourse phronesis. Discourse phronesis is a socially and contextually developed phenomenon, and hence discursive practices are particular within context. The case study revealed four particular discursive practices as examples of discourse phronesis: field practices, mandate practices, priority practices and word practices. Practical implications – The results of this research advance awareness of the concealed power within discursive practices and, more importantly, invite practitioners to pursue the intellectual virtue of discourse phronesis while implementing organizational change. Discourse phronesis may be utilized as a gateway to advance change goals and to translate various discourses and actions that otherwise might remain unexplained. Originality/value – Although extensively studied, organizational change has not previously been directly approached through discourse phronesis, and by doing so this empirical research provides novelty value to both organizational change research and discourse analysis. By introducing the concept of discourse phronesis, this research offers scholars an alternative lens, the intellectual practicality lens, through which to approach organizational change and perhaps to develop new understandings of the great challenges that organizational change complexities usually generate.

From snapshot to continuity: A dynamic model of organizational adaptation to environmental changes

Organizational change research has frequently examined organizations’ short-term responses to external change. However, such a short-term, linear time perspective fails to explain how firms adapt to changes that manifest themselves repeatedly and over time, such as climate change. We therefore develop a dynamic model of organizational entrainment to environmental changes that emphasizes the importance of a cyclical time perspective for firms’ long-term adaptation. This paper responds to prior calls to adopt a time lens perspective to better understand organizational adaptation patterns. We provide an integrative framework on organizational entrainment and absorptive capacity that allows researchers to delineate “when” and “how fast” organizations adapt to external changes depending on their time perspective.

Introduction: Coaching and Positive Emotions—Exploring a Collection of Resources in the Health and Wellness Domain

Academy of Management Learning & EducationVol. 13, No. 2 Book & Resource ReviewsIntroduction: Coaching and Positive Emotions—Exploring a Collection of Resources in the Health and Wellness DomainAmy L. Kenworthy, Angela Passarelli and Ellen Van OostenAmy L. KenworthyBond UniversityCase Western Reserve University, Angela PassarelliBond UniversityCase Western Reserve University and Ellen Van OostenBond UniversityCase Western Reserve UniversityPublished Online:3 Sep 2014https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2014.0091AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail View articleREFERENCES Bennett J. 2006. An agenda for coaching-related research: A challenge for researchers. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 58(4): 240–249. Google Scholar Boyatzis R. E. 2007. Mentoring for intentional behavior change. In Ragins B. R.Kram K. E. (Eds.), The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and practice: 447–470. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar Boyatzis R. E. 2008. Leadership development from a complexity perspective. Consulting Psychology Journal, 60(4): 298–313. Google Scholar Boyatzis R. E. , Smith M. L. , Blaize N. 2006. Developing sustainable leaders through coaching and compassion. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 5(1): 8–24.Abstract , Google Scholar Dutton J. E. 2003. Energize your workplace: How to create and sustain high-quality connections at work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Google Scholar Feldman D. , Lankau M. 2005. Executive coaching: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Management, 31(6): 829–848. Google Scholar Fillery-Travis A. F. , Lane D. 2006. Does coaching work or are we asking the wrong question? International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(1): 23–36. Google Scholar Fredrickson B. L. 1998. What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2(3): 300–319. Google Scholar Fredrickson B. L. 2001. The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56: 218–226. Google Scholar Fredrickson B. L. , Branigan C. 2005. Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires. Cognition and Emotion, 19(3): 313–332. Google Scholar Josselson R. 1996. The space between us: Explore the dimensions of human relationships. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar Kiecolt-Glaser J. K. , Newton T. L. 2001. Marriage and health: His and hers. Psychological Bulletin, 127: 472–503. Google Scholar Luthans F. , Avey J. B. , Avolio B. J. , Peterson S. J. 2010. The development and resulting performance impact of positive psychological capital. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 21(1): 41–67. Google Scholar Miller J. B. , Stiver I. P. 1997. The healing connection: How women form connections in both therapy and in life. Boston: Beacon Press. Google Scholar Smith M. L. , Van Oosten E. B. , Boyatzis R. E. 2009. Coaching for sustained desired change. In Woodman R.Pasmore W.Shani R. (Eds.), Research in Organizational Change and Development, (Vol. 17, pp.145–174).Oxford, England: Emerald Group Publishing. Google Scholar Uchino B. N. , Cacioppo J. T. , Kiecolt-Glaser J. K. 1996. The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin, 119: 488–531. Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byExecutive Coaching Outcome Research in a Field Setting: A Near-Randomized Controlled Trial Study in a Global Healthcare CorporationErik De Haan, David E. Gray and Sally Bonneywell22 December 2019 | Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 18, No. 4Old Wine in New Bottles: Exploring Pragmatism as a Philosophical Framework for the Discipline of CoachingTatiana Bachkirova and Simon Borrington16 October 2019 | Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 18, No. 3 Vol. 13, No. 2 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 3 September 2014 Published in print 1 June 2014 Information© Academy of Management Learning & EducationDownload PDF

Comments on “Effects of Change Interventions: What Kind of Evidence Do We Really Have?”

This is a very important article that should start an important conversation about the state of research in the field of organization change and development. I agree completely with the premise of the article that change strategies and interventions should ideally be chosen based on evidence, not intuition or values about change. The article does an excellent job of framing the scientific principles by which research should be evaluated. The four-level classification of research based on the extent to which the study is controlled and enables conclusions about internal validity is sensible and grounded in accepted standards of normal science research. Although one might argue with the way in which the sample of studies was chosen, changing the sampling criteria would only make marginal changes in findings. Consequently, the findings that the vast majority of research in organization change does not come close to meeting standards for normal science research is defensible. Indeed, if asked in advance of the study I would have predicted these findings. The conclusion that the wide variety of variables and measures being employed is hindering the convergence of knowledge about what works and does not work is also valid and has been cited by many others as a barrier to progress. The article is, therefore, an important challenge to the field of change management with which I agree. It should cause scholar-consultants who are in a position to encourage senior managers to undertake meaningful research to evaluate their practice. Having said this, I have reservations about some of the implicit and explicit conclusions of the article. I offer these to encourage more complexity in our thinking about the reasons for the current state of intervention research and what might be done about it. Let me start with a critique of the research method the authors employ. The method is too distanced to enable us to learn more about how the poorer research designs were executed. The authors fail to examine a subsample of these studies to learn if the

Eighteen shades of grey?

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore, how organization theoretically diverse research on OCR is actually grounded, since insights into the organization theoretical foundations of OCR are completely lacking.Design/methodology/approach– A selection of 85 articles on organizational change was made, published in top tier journals in 2010. The authors conducted a reference analysis based on 18 prominent organization theories and their main contributing authors.Findings– The findings show firstly a very strong theoretical selectivity, focusing on cognitive, learning, and neo-institutional theories. Other theories are almost fully neglected. Secondly, this analysis suggests that current OCR struggles hard with transforming the cognitive frames of topical OT into fruitful accesses to the own object. The resulting theory application appears as a dissatisfying escape strategy, performed to cover theoretical antagonisms and to avoid a deeper confrontation with the underlying assumptions of OCR.Research limitations/implications– The authors are fully aware that the depth of their analysis is worth broadening. A more comparable scope in the amount of the theories, journals, articles, and of the covered time span would help to substantiate their results.Practical implications– Pragmatic change approaches rely strongly on organizational change research. If OCR itself is not topical in terms of using available theoretical knowledge, pragmatic approaches fail to stand on solid ground. The paper therefore provides a background for the link between failing empirical change projects and the usage of available scientific knowledge.Originality/value– An analysis of the organization theoretical topicality of organizational change research is completely missing. The paper therefore not only contributes to the discovery of a blind spot in organizational studies, it possibly helps to explore the reasons for the high percentage of failing change projects.

Research in Organization Change & Development: Trajectories and Insights of ROCD Volume 22 Authors

The first annual volume of Research in Organization Change and Development was published in 1987. Since then, ROCD has provided a special platform for scholars and practitioners to share new research- based and practice-based insights. The symposium was an integral part of the ODC division program in which division members had an opportunity to meet with the authors of the upcoming volumes. Volume Twenty Two of Research in Organizational Change and Development continues the tradition of providing insightful and thought provoking chapters. The chapters in the volume represent a commitment to maintaining the high quality of work that many of you have come to expect from this publication. Together, these papers contribute to a sustainable trajectory of research in the field. The interactive session in small groups provide an opportunity to explore research findings and emerging research themes in the field. The give and take, led by chapter authors advance our collective understanding of current and future issues facing organization change and development. The Dialogic Mindset in Organization Development Presenter: Gervase R Bushe; Simon Fraser U. Presenter: Robert J Marshak; American U. Connecting Organizational Change Content with Change Strategy: Has Theory become Practice? Presenter: David Brian Szabla; George Washington U. Presenter: James E. Stefanchin; George Washington U.

A study on relationship between organizational culture and organizational commitment

Article history: Received January 4, 2014 Accepted 1 June 2014 Available online June 9 2014 This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the relationship between organizational culture and organization commitment. The study uses two questionnaires, one for measuring organizational commitment originally developed by Meyer and Allen (1991) [Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human resource management review, 1(1), 61-89.] and the other one for organizational culture developed by Denison and Spreitzer (1991) [Denison, D. R., & Spreitzer, G. M. (1991). Organizational culture and organizational development: A competing values approach. Research in organizational change and development, 5(1), 1-21.]. The study is accomplished among selected full time employees who work for an Iranian bank named Bank Saderat Iran. Using Pearson correlation test as well as linear regression methods, the study has determined that there were some positive and meaningful relationship between all components of organizational commitment and organizational culture. © 2014 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Responsible downsizing strategy as a panacea to firm performance: the role of dynamic capabilities

Purpose– A subject of continuous debate in the field of organizational change research and management practices is on whether downsizing strategies result in improved firm performance. The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically examine dynamic firm capabilities as a major missing mechanism of firm performance.Design/methodology/approach– This study uses the data of 154 Taiwanese firms that employed an organizational downsizing strategy as the sample for testing the research question.Findings– The results indicate that a responsible downsizing strategy can result in greater firm performance for the development and enhancement of dynamic firm capabilities.Originality value– This research introduces dynamic capabilities into the downsizing context, and the empirical results provide new theoretical insight into downsizing and dynamic capabilities research, suggesting that downsizing should be regarded by management as resource management rather than a cost-cutting action.

A theoretical framework of organizational change

PurposeOrganizational change is a risky endeavour. Most change initiatives fall short on their goals and produce high opportunity and process costs, which at times outweigh the content benefits of organizational change. This paper seeks to develop a framework, offering a theoretical toolbox to analyze context‐dependent barriers and enablers of organizational change. Starting from an organizational identity perspective, it aims to link contingency‐based approaches, such as environmental scan, SWOT and stakeholder analysis, with insights from organizational behaviour research, such as knowledge sharing and leadership.Design/methodology/approachThe framework is informed by long‐lasting field research into organizational change in an international policing environment. The theories in the framework are selected from the perspective of field validity in two ways; they were chosen because the topics covered by these theories emerged as relevant during the field research and therefore it can be expected they have applicability to the field. The authors' insights and suggestions are summarised in 13 propositions throughout the text.FindingsThe analysis provides a clear warning that organizational change is more risky and multifaceted than change initiators typically assume. It is stressed that the external environment and the internal dynamics of organizations co‐determine the meaning of managerial practices. This implies that cure‐all recipes to organizational change are bound to fail.Originality/valueThis paper makes an ambitious attempt to cross disciplinary boundaries in the field of organizational change research to contribute to a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of change processes by integrating perspectives that focus on the internal context and the external environment of organizations.

Research in Organizational Change and Development (Volume 19)

Research in Organizational Change and Development (Volume 19)

Qualitative research methods in international organizational change research

PurposeThe central purpose of the research presented in this paper is to synthesize the current state of the field in qualitative methods in international organizational change research and to provide a call to researchers to use this type of methodology more frequently. The intent is to provide readers with an overview of how and when qualitative research methods should be used for investigating important theoretical and empirical questions in management research.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed several working hypotheses based on their own experiences in using an extensive array of qualitative methods in organizational change research. They coupled this with an extensive literature search to understand how these methodologies have been used to date. The findings from the literature search were analysed to uncover where there are gaps in the work and how organizational change and other management scholars can effectively use qualitative methods to advance their understanding of international change phenomena, given the unique questions and situations confronted in various contexts. The authors include an array of examples to show how qualitative research has been used to successfully test theories, uncover new phenomena, find connections between various situations, and provide a deep understanding of contextual influences on organizational change.FindingsThe authors' findings include several examples and ideas of how and when scholars can use qualitative methods to advance understanding of international change phenomena. This provides a much richer, deeper, and more nuanced understanding of many of the phenomena and issues under investigation by employing the more observational and human‐centric techniques available through the use of qualitative methods. Several of the implications of context are only observable through some of the qualitative methods discussed, such as ethnography, case studies, interviews, observations, and their respective analysis methods. Qualitative research can be employed successfully and fruitfully in organization studies' contexts to: help uncover new organizational phenomena; build and test theories of change; and create new methods that researchers can use specifically in international change studies.Originality/valueThe paper is the only one of its kind, bringing a cohesive and focused review of qualitative methods studies in international organizational change research. It provides readers and the field with a menu of ways to effectively use qualitative methods and a description of where and how to bring in these methods to answer questions and uncover new themes that are not effectively dealt with through the use of more commonly employed quantitative methods and analyses.

Research in Organizational Change and Development (Volume 18)

Research in Organizational Change and Development (Volume 18)

Art imitates life: art and architecture as a driving force for change

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the use of art and architecture by leadership as a driving force to effect change of perception of an organization's identity. While some claim life imitates art, from a management discipline lens the paper aims to state that art imitates life through introduction of a conceptual model.Design/methodology/approachA literature review of organizational art and architecture, leadership, identity and change is undertaken and synthesized with Lewin's theory and concepts of force field analysis. Case studies from Africa, Europe and the USA are analyzed.FindingsOrganizational leadership uses art and architecture as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity. This is exemplified through evaluation of choices in the organizations examined.Practical implicationsThis paper establishes a relationship between choices organizational leadership makes on art and architecture and how they can be used as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity and proposes a conceptual model for further study. This model opens potentially several new streams of research in management and organizational change disciplines.Originality/valueThere is a small subset of scholarship and studies in the fields of management and organizational change, with a scant amount focused on choices organizational leadership makes on art and architecture and how they can be used as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity. This paper attempts to initiate further research and empirical studies.

Research in Organization Change & Development: Trajectories and Insights of ROCD Volume 21 Authors

The first annual volume of Research in Organization Change and Development was published by JAI Press in 1987. Since then, ROCD has provided a special platform for scholars and practitioners to share new research-based insights. The symposium was an integral part of the ODC division program in which division members had an opportunity to meet with the authors of the upcoming volumes. Volume Twenty One of Research in Organizational Change and Development continues the tradition of providing insightful and thought provoking chapters. The chapters in the volume represent a commitment to maintaining the high quality of work that many of you have come to expect from this publication. The interactive session in small groups provide unique opportunity to explore research findings and emerging research directions in the field. The give and take in the small group discussions led by chapter authors' advance our collective understanding of current issues facing the field. Compassion for a Change: A Review of Research and Theory Presenter: Andre S. Avramchuk; California State U. Los Angeles Presenter: Michael R Manning; Benedictine U. Presenter: Robert A. Carpino; California State U. Los Angeles Attitudes About the Field of Organization Development 20 Years Later Presenter: Amanda Shull; Columbia U. Presenter: Allan H Church; PepsiCo, Inc Presenter: Warner Burke; Columbia U. Mastering Organizational Complexity: A Core Competence for 21st Century Leaders Presenter: Ron Ashkenas; Schaffer Consulting Presenter: Wes Siegal; Schaffer Consulting Presenter: Markus Spiegel; U. of Liechtenstein

Eighteen Shades of Grey? A Literature Review into the Theoretical Flavours of Change Research

Organizational change appears as an intriguing stimulus for business success as much as change protagonists appear as eroticizing manipulators. The ’sexiness’ of concepts for organizational change is that its stimulus is not driven by variation in terms of manipulating contexts, of tools, partners, or of overall preferences. It obviously fascinates by pure simplicity and repetition. Organizational change management concepts seems to thrill by boredom and by permanently postponing the climax of ‘really being better’. This is not only the case regarding the well-known plethora of similarly trivial change concepts. Boredom is also the case in, and probably caused by, organizational change research (OCR), since an increasingly loud voice of criticism diagnoses general partiality and apathy in the field. For us, this diagnosis conflicts dramatically with an existing tremendous variety and richness in the indispensable background of organizational change research - organization theory (OT). Particularly since organization theory has developed radically new perspectives on organizations over the last decades, an up-to-date theoretical foundation of OCR is key for the future impact of change management efforts. The purpose of this paper is to explore, how organization theoretically diverse research on OCR is actually grounded, since insights into the organization theoretical foundations of OCR are completely lacking. For this reason, a selection of 85 articles on organizational change was made, published in top tier journals in 2010. We conducted a reference analysis based on 18 prominent organization theories and their main contributing authors. The findings show firstly a very strong theoretical selectivity in OCR, focussing on cognitive, learning, discursive and neo-institutional theories. Other theories are almost fully neglected. Secondly, our analysis indicate this practice as being a sign that current OCR struggles hard with transforming the cognitive frames of topical OT into own fruitful accesses to its object. The resulting ‘vanilla practice’ of theory application appears as a dissatisfying escape strategy performed to cover theoretical antagonisms and to avoid a deeper confrontation with the underlying assumptions of the identity and conditions of OCR.

Research in Organization Change and Development: Trajectories and Insights of ROCD Volume 20 Authors

Research in Organization Change and Development: Trajectories and Insights of ROCD Volume 20 Authors

Qualitative Challenges for Complexifying Organizational Change Research

Qualitative Challenges for Complexifying Organizational Change Research

Shaking Fruit out of the Tree

This article moves beyond descriptives of how we “do” change in a test of whether there is an empirical basis for knowing where in its life cycle is organizational change research. Questioning typical assumptions about change, it indicates what progress in the field looks like by plotting the patterning of temporal effects and life cycle in articles published in eight journals between 1947 and 2008 ( n = 473). Findings indicate that the publication of more on change has not equated with more developed knowledge. As a community, change researchers are overwhelmingly focused on the most conservative type of progress, resulting in research that replicates rather than extends or develops, which ranks fairly low on a knowledge development scale. This illusion of knowledge development is described and explained by researcher reliance on existing idea mobilization and on belief prisons. The article concludes with discussion of implications for research and publishing practice.

Do 70 Per Cent of All Organizational Change Initiatives Really Fail?

A 70 per cent failure rate is frequently attributed to organizational-change initiatives, raising questions about the origins and supporting evidence for this very specific statistic. This article critically reviews five separate published instances identifying a 70 per cent organizational-change failure rate. In each instance, the review highlights the absence of valid and reliable empirical evidence in support of the espoused 70 per cent failure rate. Organizational-change research and scholarship now exists which enables us to question the belief in inherent organizational-change failure rates. Inherent failure rates are critically questioned in terms of the ambiguities of change, the context-dependent nature of change, competing perceptions, temporal aspects and measurability. In conclusion, whilst the existence of a popular narrative of 70 per cent organizational-change failure is acknowledged, there is no valid and reliable empirical evidence to support such a narrative.