Organisational change and the individual

Organizations and change are pervasive features of modern life, and organizational changes, whether intended or not, are becoming increasingly frequent. Despite its practical significance the field of organizational change lacks widely accepted theories aimed either at the academic observer or the participant in change, which explain what it is and how it takes place. This thesis attempts to develop an understanding of the nature and dynamics of organizational change from both perspectives. The thesis is divided into three main parts. The first part reviews some of the existing theories in the field, and proposes an alternative theory based on the notion of differential rates of change, and which distinguishes between descriptions and explanations of change. This is then elaborated through a review of the literature in the fields of organizational and individual change. The main theory, and ideas derived from it, are extended further and evaluated in the second and third parts of the thesis. Case studies are employed in the second part and survey data used in the third part; both are drawn from nurses facing major changes in a Group of National Health Service hospitals. A number of specific conclusions are reached about the ways change may be effected in organizations, and about the ways people may react to these changes. For instance, the examination of individual reactions to anticipated changes suggested two main areas of response. Affective attitudes towards the change were related most closely to judgements made about future patterns in the organization; whereas coping behaviour was more closely related to perceptions of existing patterns (and opportunities

Living with contradictions: the dynamics of senior managers in relation to sustainability

In this article, we investigate how senior managers located in Northern Europe in the energy and power industry coordinate their recognition of sustainability challenges with other things they say and do. Identity theory is used to examine the fine-grained work through which the managers navigate identities and potentially competing narratives. In contrast with other studies we find that pursuing cohering identities and resolving potential tensions and contradictions does not appear to matter for most of the managers. We explore the dynamics of how managers live with apparent contradictions and tensions without threat to their narrative coherence. We extend existing research into managerial identities and sustainability by: showing how managers combine different potentially contrasting identity types; identifying nine discursive processes through which the majority of managers distance and deflect sustainability issues away from themselves and their companies; and, showing the contrasting identity dynamics in the case of one manager to whom narrative coherence becomes important and prompts alternative action

Understanding sustainability through the lens of ecocentric radical-re?exivity : implications for management education

This paper seeks to contribute to the debate around sustainability by proposing the need for an ecocentric stance to sustainability that reflexively embeds humans in—rather than detached from—nature. We argue that this requires a different way of thinking about our relationship with our world, necessitating a (re)engagement with the sociomaterial world in which we live. We develop the notion of ecocentrism by drawing on insights from sociomateriality studies, and show how radical-reflexivity enables us to appreciate our embeddedness and responsibility for sustainability by bringing attention to the interrelationship between values, actions and our social and material world. We examine the implications of an ecocentric radically reflexive approach to sustainability for management education

Perceiving ‘capability’ within dynamic capabilities: the role of owner-manager self-efficacy

This article combines two popular, yet separate concepts, dynamic capabilities and self-efficacy. Both are concerned with ability / capability and offer potentially valuable synergies. As such, our in-depth qualitative study based in three micro-enterprises in the United Kingdom (UK), investigated, ‘what role(s) may owner-manager perceived self-efficacy play as a micro-foundation of dynamic capabilities in micro-enterprises?’ Our findings show that perceived self-efficacy can influence dynamic capability enactment in multifaceted ways and even suggest that in some cases, perceived self-efficacy is a crucial component of dynamic capabilities, without which there may be no such capability. These insights help open up the black box of dynamic capabilities by contributing important knowledge to the growing body of research into the micro-foundations of such capabilities. Furthermore, our study illuminates the importance of idiosyncratic micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities in micro-enterprises and expands extant knowledge of the potential effects of self-efficacy in the small business and entrepreneurship domain

From incremental to radical: organizational knowledge-related barriers and enablers of paradigm-shifting innovation

From incremental to radical: organizational knowledge-related barriers and enablers of paradigm-shifting innovatio

Towards an understanding of the nature of dynamic capabilities in high-velocity markets of China

Dynamic capabilities are arguably of more value in the internationalization process, particularly of multinational companies (MNCs) that operate in highly dynamic international markets. Yet there is a scarcity of research on the nature of dynamic capabilities in such highly relevant contexts. This exploratory study presents observations of dynamic capabilities of MNCs operating in ten tightly-defined high-velocity industries of China that shed light on the nature of the concept. The findings suggest that (1) dynamic capabilities of MNCs in high-velocity markets are analytic, strategically planned high-frequency processes and routines, (2) they are highly complicated, and (3) they rely extensively on combined knowledge derived from global and local knowledge. They are likely influenced by diverse sources of environmental velocity and the degree of the MNC’s ownership advantages. The complexity and sophistication observed have led us to propose a way to conceptualize dynamic capabilities of MNCs in high-velocity markets

Dynamic capabilities:current debates and future directions

The field of dynamic capabilities has developed very rapidly over the last ten years. In this paper we discuss the evolution of the concept, and identify two major current debates around the nature of dynamic capabilities and their consequences. We then review recent progress as background to identifying the contributions of the seven papers in this special issue, and discuss the relative merits of qualitative and quantitative studies for investigating dynamic capabilities. We conclude with recommendations for future research arguing for more longitudinal studies which can examine the processes of dynamic abilities over time, and for studies in diverse industries and national contexts