The complexity of the organizational renewal decision: the management role

The purpose of this paper is to focus on an analysis of the evolutionary process experienced by the firm over time, but from the perspective of the role played by the management.

The empirical analysis began with the elaboration of a questionnaire that was directed at a population of Spanish firms. A total of 105 useable questionnaires were received. The first stage in the analysis was to calculate the degree of perceived inertia in each firm, and next we defined two subsamples: inert firms and least inert firms. Finally, we used linear regression analysis and logit analysis to test the hypotheses.

The results of this current research have highlighted the different ways in which the management role proves determinant in the design of the organizational renewal process. At the same time, the results obtained reveal the freedom available to decision‐makers with regards organizational renewal. The results also suggest that the availability of resources may constitute a key element in the organizational renewal.

The cross‐sectional nature of the study renders it vulnerable to some problems, so future studies should measure organizational renewal using longitudinal data and data from multiple sources. In addition, the small sample may foster sample bias and inhibit the generalizability of results.

The attitudes of managers are determinants of the organizational renewal process. Furthermore, the availability of resources may constitute a key element in the renewal, insofar as it can extend the limits of managerial discretion.

The organizational renewal decision is extremely complex because of the diversity of factors on which it depends: environmental changes, imitation, employee attitudes towards changes and particularly the management's attitudes.