Resistance and the background conversations  of change

Jeffrey D. Ford; Laurie W. Ford; Randall T. McNamara

doi:10.1108/09534810210422991

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Journal of Organizational Change Management

ISSN: 0953-4814

Online from: 1988

Subject Area: Organization Studies

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Resistance and the background conversations of change

Document Information:
Title:	Resistance and the background conversations of change
Author(s):	Jeffrey D. Ford, (Max M. Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA,), Laurie W. Ford, (Critical Path Consultants, Columbus, Ohio, USA), Randall T. McNamara, (Landmark Education Corporation, San Francisco, California, USA)
Citation:	Jeffrey D. Ford, Laurie W. Ford, Randall T. McNamara, (2002) "Resistance and the background conversations of change", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 15 Iss: 2, pp.105 - 121
Keywords:	Change management, Discussions, Effectiveness
Article type:	Research paper
DOI:	10.1108/09534810210422991 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	MCB UP Ltd
Abstract:	Resistance to change has generally been understood as a result of personal experiences and assessments about the reliability of others. Accordingly, attempts are made to alter these factors in order to win support and overcome resistance. But this understanding ignores resistance as a socially constructed reality in which people are responding more to the background conversations in which the change is being initiated than to the change itself. This paper proposes that resistance to change is a function of the ongoing background conversations that are being spoken and which create the context for both the change initiative and the responses to it. In this context, resistance is not a personal phenomenon, but a social systemic one in which resistance is maintained by the background conversations of the organization. Successfully dealing with this source of resistance requires distinguishing the background conversations and completing the past.