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Article
Publication date: 9 October 2019

Signe Bruskin

The purpose of this paper is to study the phenomenon of organizational change failure through an emic approach. Grounded in empirical examples, the paper unfolds why the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the phenomenon of organizational change failure through an emic approach. Grounded in empirical examples, the paper unfolds why the phenomenon seems to be missing from the literature of the becoming view (e.g. Tsoukas and Chia, 2002).

Design/methodology/approach

Inspired by the methodological strategy of “studying through,” organizational changes are followed through space and time within the setting of a Nordic bank, from where the empirical data have been collected via longitudinal study. The empirical data are generated through a combination of methods: shadowing, interviews, in situ observations and desk research in order to capture the ever-changing phenomenon of organizational change.

Findings

The paper finds that organizational changes drift away, either by slipping into the everyday practices of the organization, or by drifting away in time when history is reinterpreted. The paper concludes that organizational change failures suffer the same fate as organizational changes more generally and drift away in space and time.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the becoming view by illustrating how methodologically an ever-changing phenomenon such as organizational change can be studied. Further, it contributes to the field of organizational change failure by unpacking the fate of organizational change failure when change is natural and slippery in nature. The paper includes reflections on what the consequences might be for praxis.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 3 October 2006

Henrich R. Greve and Hayagreeva Rao

Learning theory explains how organizations change as a result of experience, and can be used to predict the competitive strength of individual organizations and competitive…

Abstract

Learning theory explains how organizations change as a result of experience, and can be used to predict the competitive strength of individual organizations and competitive pressures in organizational populations. We review extant learning theoretical propositions on how competitive strength is affected by experienced competition, founding conditions, and observed failures of other organizations. In addition, we propose that niche changes are an important source of learning. We test these propositions on data from the Norwegian general insurance industry. We find that historical density increases failure rates, contrary to some earlier findings, and also that the effect of founding density supports the density delay rather than trial-by-fire hypothesis. We find that failures of others before and during the lifetime of the organization reduce failure rates, and niche changes reduce failure rates for joint-stock companies but not for mutual firms. Overall the findings suggest that organizations learn more cheaply from the failures of others than from their own experiences, and that the stresses of competition can overwhelm the learning effects of competition.

Details

Ecology and Strategy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-435-5

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 17 January 2022

Roy K. Smollan and Smita Singh

Purpose: The emotions that accompany failure, in and of organizations, and their consequences have been researched in multiple domains of management, but comparative approaches…

Abstract

Purpose: The emotions that accompany failure, in and of organizations, and their consequences have been researched in multiple domains of management, but comparative approaches have seldom been attempted. The failure of organizations to survive has been a common occurrence over centuries, particularly in the modern era of start-ups, innovation, and political, economic, and environmental turbulence. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, failure at many levels of society, including the organizational and individual, has increased significantly and produced even more intense emotions. Study Design/Methodology/Approach: For this conceptual chapter, literature from many disciplines was consulted on failure in organizations, and the emotions it elicit, including studies on the process of failure as well as its outcomes. Findings: Failing and failure are likely to evoke negative emotions, with negative consequences for the actor. However, positive emotions can also occur, and a matrix of emotional valence and consequences presents an intriguing set of possibilities. The dimensions of emotions (valence, intensity, duration, and frequency) interact with a wide range of contributing factors (salience, personality, identity, emotional intelligence, emotional regulation, prior experience of failure, and context) in producing the emotions of failure and their consequences. Originality/Value: This chapter contributes to the literature by explicating the types of emotions that emanate during and after failure across many domains of management research, their dimensions and contributing factors, and the consequences for the individual actor. The model of the emotions of failure that is presented here assembles a wider variety of elements than prior research has offered. We indicate avenues for further research as we approach an era of even more demanding challenges.

Details

Emotions and Negativity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-200-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 May 2009

Victor Dos Santos Paulino

The adaptation perspective dominates the issue of organizational change and assumes that organizational inertia increases organizational mortality. This assumption is inadequate…

2334

Abstract

Purpose

The adaptation perspective dominates the issue of organizational change and assumes that organizational inertia increases organizational mortality. This assumption is inadequate to analyze organizational change in risky activities. The purpose of this paper is to underline the relevance of organizational inertia when organizations face risky environments.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual framework was built that combines the adaptation and selection perspectives from the evolutionary approach and the high‐reliability organizations literature and apply it to space activities.

Findings

First, it was found that to prevent catastrophic failures, space organizations reproduce routines validated in previous successful programs, which leads to situations of organizational inertia; and second, the opposing perspectives of selection and adaptation become complementary when the author focus on the level of risk faced by organizations.

Research limitations/implications

This paper focuses on space organizations and not more general types of organizations. However, the findings could be generalized to organizations manufacturing complex products and systems.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper is based on the new empirical and theoretical frameworks provided to analyze organizational inertia. Organizational inertia may be a satisfying response to environments favoring organizations with high levels of reliability. This new way of viewing inertia would be of value to scholars studying organizations in which errors can have catastrophic consequences.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2009

Daniel Parker and Gina Grandy

This paper aims to explore how varsity football athletes and coaches negotiate meanings when faced with the unmet expectations of a new head coach brought into lead a turnaround…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how varsity football athletes and coaches negotiate meanings when faced with the unmet expectations of a new head coach brought into lead a turnaround process. It also aims to pay particular attention to the role of history in this meaning making process.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on semi‐structured interviews with players and coaches at two points in time. To preserve the richness of their experiences and illuminate the historical aspects of change, it focuses on the stories of three players and one supporting coach.

Findings

Numerous symbols of change emerge that have multiple and contradictory meanings. The meanings around success and failure are renegotiated over time as individuals struggle with the unmet expectations of change. Moreover, individuals are unable to shed the failures of the past and move forward.

Practical implications

Change is a complex and messy process of managing multiple meanings. Understanding change entails more than a snapshot picture of an organization. New leaders have no control over the past, yet they need to be aware of how individuals experienced the past in order to increase the likelihood of success in the present.

Originality/value

Success and failure are experienced as an ongoing process as athletes and coaches experience, reflect on and interact with others. In illuminating the role of history in how change is experienced in the present, the paper demonstrates that the past can serve as both an immobilizing force, as well as a comparative point enabling individuals to rationalize their emotions.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2000

Marie L. Thorne

Defines and evaluates transformation, and examines why transformation efforts can fail. Provides a case study, describing the context, strategy and change processes. Finally…

3077

Abstract

Defines and evaluates transformation, and examines why transformation efforts can fail. Provides a case study, describing the context, strategy and change processes. Finally, identifies what lessons can be learned from working with failure.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 38 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2015

Joseph Amankwah-Amoah

The purpose of this paper is to examine how decision-maker attributes unfold to precipitate organisational failure. The analysis brings to light how key attributes such as…

1151

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how decision-maker attributes unfold to precipitate organisational failure. The analysis brings to light how key attributes such as information-processing capabilities and human capital decay interact to bring about business decline and exit.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on an integrated review and conceptualisation of the literature.

Findings

The study articulates how a set of attributes of decision makers, i.e. human capital obsolescence, powerlessness, meaninglessness and institutional linkages, contributes to organisational failure.

Research limitations/implications

The paper concludes by setting out an array of strategies of learning from others’ failures.

Originality/value

In spite of a growing body of research on organisational failure, scholars have placed overwhelming emphasis on ecological explanations and business failure prediction models. The study moves beyond the ecological explanations to offer a more fine-grained analysis of firm-level factors that precipitate business failure.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 115 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2009

Renate A. Werkman

The purpose of this paper is to understand failure to change by examining patterns of coherent structure and agency characteristics in changing organizations in specific sectors…

4516

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand failure to change by examining patterns of coherent structure and agency characteristics in changing organizations in specific sectors and to provide specific recommendations for intervention in these patterns.

Design/methodology/approach

A large survey in 367 organizations engaged in different change processes and from different sectors, among employees in different positions.

Findings

The paper finds that there are five patterns among changing organizations, each with their own specific problems, characteristics, and change approaches that require different interventions.

Research limitations/implications

Parsimony in research models and the study of overall relations between variables does not help to understand failure to change. More integrative approaches are needed that take variety among changing organizations into account.

Practical implications

Change agents should not opt for a “one best strategy” for change but choose a contingent change approach that takes into consideration the specific characteristics of their organizations, change processes, and contexts in order to make change more successful.

Originality/value

This paper establishes that successful change cannot be explained by one or a few variables but is contingent on an interplay of agency, structure, and contextual characteristics. Together, these characteristics form constellations that characterize different sectors. The paper provides suggestions for more successful change.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2002

Ronald L. Jacobs

Institutionalization of organizational change should be considered a part of the change process, regardless of the nature of the change. After initial success, many change efforts…

4260

Abstract

Institutionalization of organizational change should be considered a part of the change process, regardless of the nature of the change. After initial success, many change efforts eventually fail. The article discusses a framework for institutionalizing change and introduces cascade training to ensure the employee competence to carry out the change. The article introduces four designs of cascade training based on the change target, change purpose, the training outcomes, organizational characteristics and characteristics of the intervention.

Details

Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 26 no. 2/3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0590

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2003

Martin E. Smith

Summarizes 59 organisational change efforts that had culture change as an objective. Culture change was a common type of organisational change and usually occurred in combination…

32786

Abstract

Summarizes 59 organisational change efforts that had culture change as an objective. Culture change was a common type of organisational change and usually occurred in combination with other types of change. The success rate for culture change was low. Success was more likely when the sponsors were perceived to be mid‐level rather than senior executives. Culture change was most often undertaken because of competition and customer issues. Statistical data were most often cited to describe successful culture change while unsuccessful change efforts were usually described by opinions. Success correlated most highly with the variables that reflected stakeholder management, manageability of the project, project staffing, sponsorship and progress monitoring. Failure correlated most strongly with ineffective leadership and the clash with the existing culture. Success factors and barriers for cultural change resembled the profile for other types of organizational change. Ends with recommendations for managing cultural change.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 24 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

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