Butting heads and headlines
Journal of Organizational Change Management
ISSN: 0953-4814
Article publication date: 8 February 2013
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the validity of a set of best practice principles for managing transformational organizational change by applying them to a specific change initiative in the media. It also aims to examine whether prescriptions for effective change leadership (traditionally confined to single leaders) apply to a situation and organization where there are three distinct leader roles.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes the form of a case study of a major change initiative undertaken at a leading Canadian newspaper.
Findings
The paper shows that multiple, relatively autonomous leaders can lead a successful and unified change given specific organizational and environmental conditions. It also concludes that the generally accepted best practice of change leadership does not necessarily apply to a newspaper environment and posits that, in certain circumstances, a major change initiative can succeed despite running counter to the prevalent prescriptions in the literature.
Research limitations/implications
The conclusions drawn may be limited to organizations in the news media or those with similar organizational structures.
Practical implications
The paper suggests shortcoming of existing normative leadership theories, seeks to explain why this is the case, and makes numerous suggestions for further study.
Originality/value
The paper challenges orthodox assumptions and theories about leader roles and necessary qualities in leaders in successful organizational change. It extends understanding of change processes in the news media, which is under‐studied. It also suggests the applicability, but also relative insufficiency, of existing change theory as pertains to the media industry.
Keywords
Citation
Dutkiewicz, J. and Duxbury, L. (2013), "Butting heads and headlines", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 98-116. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534811311307932
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited