Journal of Organizational Change Management

Transforming organizational identity under institutional change : Table of Contents

Hongwei He, Yehuda Baruch — Sat Oct 10 08:00:17 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The objective of this paper is to report a case study investigating how organizational identity evolves during institutional change within a UK building society. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs an inductive case study, which is appropriate for examining such change processes. It builds on grounded theory, considered appropriate for such an explanatory research. Findings – The paper finds that: institutional change, especially regulation and practice changes, serves as the trigger to increasing salience of identity issues, i.e. identity ambiguity, legitimacy crisis and perceived identity obsolescence; leadership, organizational culture and strategic exercises are salient apparatuses to tackle identity problems caused by external pressure; and a new identity is formed as a result of the managerial interventions, characterised by the rediscovery of historical roots, modernization and dualism. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides an account of identity change, given a broader business environment change context within which the organization operates. Utilizing qualitative study of one case may be taken as a limitation. Originality/value – The theoretical contribution reflected in the findings has implications for the interfaces between identity and institutional environment and organizational culture.

“This is not the same city”: narratives of postsocialist spatial change : Table of Contents

Martyna Sliwa — Sat Oct 10 08:00:17 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to extant literature on socioeconomic transition in Central and Eastern Europe through using a spatial lens in order to address, at the level of individual experience, some of the changes that have affected Polish society post-1989. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts Taylor and Spicer's three-fold conceptualisation of organizational space as a framework to present and discuss qualitative data collected through interviews. Findings – This paper finds that socioeconomic restructuring has brought about changes in space conceived of as distance, as materialisation of power relations and as experience. In the narratives of research participants, present experience of space within the city they live and work in is related to their past experience and to their movement in the space. Different spaces are interconnected to form the individual's “mental map” of the city. The spatial dimension of postsocialist transition has an important impact upon the identities of individuals, and an analysis of narratives allows for gaining rich insights into the ambiguities and contradictions involved in evaluating its significance. Research limitations/implications – An awareness of the link between the transformation of the city and social change contributes to the understanding of postsocialist transition. Originality/value – By applying a spatial lens to analysis of the processes of social differentiation, as experienced at the micro-level of individuals, this paper contributes to the literatures on organizational space and postsocialist transition.

Organizational forgetting and its causes: an empirical research : Table of Contents

Vicenc Fernandez, Albert Sune — Sat Oct 10 08:00:17 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of organizational forgetting on knowledge-intensive firms and the circumstances in which the loss of distinctive knowledge takes place. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical research in this paper consists of a qualitative proposal based on two case studies in higher education involving situations of organizational forgetting. Findings – A framework for conceptualizing organizational forgetting. Moreover, the results of the case study analysis include a categorization of organizational forgetting and a set of propositions about their causes. Originality/value – Scientific research on knowledge management has focused on the processes of knowledge creation, use and transfer, but has devoted little attention to the processes of knowledge degradation and destruction.

Measuring the organizational responsiveness through managerial flexibility : Table of Contents

Antonio J. Verdú, José-María Gómez-Gras — Sat Oct 10 08:00:17 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of managerial flexibility and analyse its relationship to the organizational responsiveness of firms. This paper seeks to measure responsiveness by determining the fit between contextual and organizational variables. Design/methodology/approach – Using an empirical approach and data drawn from a wide range of countries and different industries this paper obtains a sufficiently validated multidimensional scale. Findings – The research proposes a measurement scale of organizational responsiveness through four types of managerial flexibility: internal and external, structural and strategic. Practical implications – Whereas researchers can benefit from the development of a methodology that integrates different perspectives on fit, practitioners can identify the organizational responsiveness in their organizations. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature by proposing a method to identify the organizational responsiveness of firms and developing a measurement scale.

A social psychological basis of corruption and sociopathology : Table of Contents

Maurice Yolles — Sat Oct 10 08:00:17 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the social psychological basis of pathologies, from which result neuroses and behaviours like corruption and sociopathic behaviour. It takes the perspective that social collectives have normative minds and can be explored in terms of their social psychological processes. Design/methodology/approach – Knowledge cybernetics will be used to show how pathologies can develop from the interconnection between such noumenal attributes as ideology and ethics. Findings – Social entities have similar psychological pathologies to individual ones. Piaget's notions of how the mind operates can be applied to corporate personality, and their inability to create and coordinate different perspectives can be seen as an organisational pathology. Research limitations/implications – The paper is a theoretical construct that explores corruption and sociopathology at a deep conceptual level. It requires elaboration through case examples to provide pragmatic meaning. Practical implications – The capacity to create a methodology that is able to explore the existence and development of pathologies. Originality/value – This is the first approach of this type using cybernetics to explore at a high conceptual focus the development of pathologies like corruption and sociopathic behaviour.

Divergent acceptance of change in a public health organization : Table of Contents

Margaret Brunton, Jonathan Matheny — Sat Oct 10 08:00:17 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the way in which health professional (HP)-based subcultures interpret reform-based changes. Design/methodology/approach – A three-phase study is carried out using thematic analysis to examine data from semi-structured interviews held with 19 HPs to examine their responses to change. Also, responses from 639 self-completion questionnaires and focus group interviews with 44 women provide insight into the influence of the change on end-users of the service. Findings – This study extends previous work through inductive examination of the interpretations of two subcultures, which reveal that acceptance of the strategic change objective is subsequently undermined by divergence in the way members of the subcultures interpret and seek to enact change – a divergent acceptance. Research limitations/implications – The findings result from a single case-study healthcare setting. Future studies can extend the research to other settings. Practical implications – The insight into the way HP-based subcultures interpret reform-based changes may advance the public service that these health care organisations strive to provide; much more broadly, it may advance the understanding of change. Originality/value – This paper shows that any significant change must accommodate existing assumptions and values and the way they colour the interpretation and enactment of change, even when agreement on superordinate objectives exists.

Organizational change capacity: the systematic development of a scale : Table of Contents

William Judge, Thomas Douglas — Sat Oct 10 08:00:17 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to systematically develop a reliable and valid construct that can facilitate and enhance the organizational change process by following Hinkin's suggestions for construct development. The “Organizational Capacity for Change” (OCC) construct provides a multi-dimensional assessment tool to diagnose and guide organizational change. Design/methodology/approach – In the first empirical study, the paper provides details on the creation and refinement of the OCC instrument by reviewing the results of nearly 3,600 respondents in 161 organizational units in a wide variety of industries from 1999 to 2005. In the second empirical study, it tests the OCC instrument in a single industry to determine the validity of the measures. Findings – The result is a reliable and valid multi-dimensional, 32-item instrument which describes a new construct in the organizational sciences that can be used by executives to prepare for and enhance their organizational change process, or for scholars to study the organizational change process. Practical implications – Theoretically, this measure refines and extends the dynamic capabilities literature. Pragmatically, this measure provides a tool for assisting executives to lead organization change initiatives. Originality/value – This measure provides a reliable and valid tool for assessing organizational change capacity, as well as provides a means for gauging improvement in organizational change capacity over time.