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Although an increasing number of organisations implement the Information Technology Infrastructure Library® (ITIL®) with the aim to improve provision of information technology services to their customers, a significant number of ITIL implementations do not achieve the expected outcomes. The organisational change strategies of organisations during ITIL implementation initiatives may have an effect on success, but empirical research on this topic is scarce. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A multiple case study methodology comprising successful ITIL implementations in eight large Australian organisations is used. A socio-technical systems approach represented by Leavitt’s Diamond is adopted as a lens to shed light on the attributes of effective organisational change strategies for successful ITIL implementation.

This paper identifies organisational change strategies employed by organisations that have effected a successful ITIL implementation. The authors identified that the ITIL implementation required changes to the four components of the socio-technical work system (STS) identified in Leavitt’s Diamond. Changes to one STS component affected other STS components when implementing ITIL; and that effort applied to the STS components did not need to be equal, but appropriate to the requirements of the ITIL implementation and the organisation.

The sample size of eight ITIL implementation cases studied may limit the generalisation of findings.

This research provides IT service management researchers and ITIL practitioners, for the first time, information about organisational change strategies as applied to successful ITIL implementations.

This research has developed novel insights into organisational change strategies and ITIL implementation that had not previously been explored.

The aim of this study, which followed two prior postal surveys, was to explore in detail, the roles of incremental improvement typified by TQM, and radical innovation in the form of BPR, in organisational change strategies. The empirical research comprised six in‐depth case studies, the selection of the case organisations being purposive rather than on a representative basis. The key research questions that shaped the empirical research, emanated from the prior research and from extensive reviews of relevant literatures, which had raised many questions. It was found that, at the case organisations, TQM and BPR were regarded as complementary approaches to organisational change rather than being mutually exclusive, as some writers have suggested. Also, it was found that many of the lessons and experiences gained from TQM, were fundamental in designing and implementing new processes. In general, the change profiles of the six case organisations resembled the episodic pattern identified by Orlikowski and Tyre (1993) rather than the “‘big bang”’ approach advocated by Hammer (1990). The merits of the former are explored. Because of the limitations of the research methodologies employed, the authors acknowledge the need for further investigation into the roles of TQM and BPR in organisational change strategies.

The monograph analyses (a) the potential impact of information technology (IT) on organisational issues that directly concern the personnel function; (b) the nature of personnel’s involvement in the decision making and activities surrounding the choice and implementation of advanced technologies, and (c) their own use of IT in developing and carrying out their own range of specialist activities. The monograph attempts to explain why personnel’s involvement is often late, peripheral and reactive. Finally, an analysis is made of whether personnel specialists – or the Human Resource Management function more generally – will play a more proactive role in relation to such technologies in the future.

Since 1973, the pharmacy operations division of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (KPMCP) has used long-term action research programs as the principal method for orchestrating change. This chapter covers the evolution of action research theory within large, complex organizations, with particular attention to health care organizations. Four case examples from KPMCP are discussed in depth and mapped to the recently advanced Roth model of insider action research. This model considers external and internal business context, the perceived need to create new organizational capabilities, as well as insider action research theory and learning mechanisms used in change programs. Issues posed by the Roth model are explored, and new theory is advanced regarding the need for a long-term perspective, the advantages and difficulties posed when managers act as insider action researchers, and the quality of data gathering that takes place during insider action research change programs.

Many supply chain reconfiguration programs are launched each year. Despite a wealth of knowledge existing in the general management domain, there has been little work within the supply chain management domain on change. That which does exist deals with change to a technical – as opposed to non‐technical – system. This leaves out many of the social and behavioral aspects of change. This paper aims to address this gap.

The paper synthesized the general management and supply chain literature on change to create a framework to explore change within three supply chains. A multiple case study approach was adopted for the research. Longitudinal and quasi‐longitudinal data were gathered and template analysis utilized to explore the cases contexts and the design choices they made in each of the change programmes.

In all three cases, the change is non‐linear and required re‐planning and learning throughout the change effort to build the capacity and capability for change. In all three cases, the success of the change is facilitated through the use of cross‐functional teams.

Change leaders were involved in the research through co‐authorship and a unique set of cross‐case lessons learned were generated. The framework used in the analysis incorporates considerations previously ignored in the supply chain literature, including the non‐linear, non‐processual nature of change.

Two major approaches to organizational transformation (OT) are identified as “Drive” and “Grow” theories. Each has a serious flaw but they can be combined to form a stronger approach. However, managing the hybrid presents special challenges, including an acceptance of paradox. Five case studies are used to gain insight into OT at a process level, into the cross-conflicts and environmental reactions, including “the organizational immune reaction”. Two propositions are formulated: the bi-focal formula (regarding the agreement between an OT initiative and its host organizational unit) and the partnership proposition (regarding shared leadership of OT initiatives).

The rapidly growing body of global leadership literature still lacks research on both global change and global leader cognition. This chapter presents two case studies describing large-scale global change efforts led by expert global leaders. This is complemented with the results of cognitive task analysis interviews with the two expert global leaders. The findings include task diagrams of the change process they employed and knowledge audits of the most difficult cognitive step in the change processes they led. The audit identifies the elements of expert cognition they utilized, the cues and strategies they employed, and the perceived difficulties novices would experience in similar situations. The findings confirm previous research, solidifying the role and nature of expert cognition in global leaders. We conclude with a discussion of the implications our analysis holds for research and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to develop “techno‐change alignment” as an approach for evaluating the effectiveness of large‐scale technology‐enabled organisational change, commonly associated with the adoption of enterprise information systems (IS).

By developing a processual analysis of techno‐change, useful insights are developed concerning techno‐change alignment, within the confines of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) case study. Recent techno‐change literature, emerging ideas on human agency, cultural and social relations are incorporated as part of the evaluation approach taken. The paper also discusses the implications of more recent work on techno‐change and suggests directions for future research.

In terms of “structural” alignment, the ERP system was chosen because it reflected requirements of the case study in the university/education sector. As part of “strategic and intellectual” alignment, business processes were reviewed, as well as alignment with university aims and strategy goals. “Social and cultural” alignment between different groups of users is paramount for effective integration and re‐embedding of relationships and activities once techno‐change is introduced. Wider implications of processual alignment suggest that bringing users and stakeholders together as human agents for techno‐change within a high priority communication environment is essential for developing effective social relationships.

Given the difficulty of developing usable evaluation mechanisms for techno‐change and complex enterprise information systems, the contribution of this article is the demonstration of an effective interpretative (processual) IS evaluation approach, which the authors refer to as “techno‐change alignment”.