Eighteen shades of grey?

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore, how organization theoretically diverse research on OCR is actually grounded, since insights into the organization theoretical foundations of OCR are completely lacking. Design/methodology/approach – A selection of 85 articles on organizational change was made, published in top tier journals in 2010. The authors conducted a reference analysis based on 18 prominent organization theories and their main contributing authors. Findings – The findings show firstly a very strong theoretical selectivity, focusing on cognitive, learning, and neo-institutional theories. Other theories are almost fully neglected. Secondly, this analysis suggests that current OCR struggles hard with transforming the cognitive frames of topical OT into fruitful accesses to the own object. The resulting theory application appears as a dissatisfying escape strategy, performed to cover theoretical antagonisms and to avoid a deeper confrontation with the underlying assumptions of OCR. Research limitations/implications – The authors are fully aware that the depth of their analysis is worth broadening. A more comparable scope in the amount of the theories, journals, articles, and of the covered time span would help to substantiate their results. Practical implications – Pragmatic change approaches rely strongly on organizational change research. If OCR itself is not topical in terms of using available theoretical knowledge, pragmatic approaches fail to stand on solid ground. The paper therefore provides a background for the link between failing empirical change projects and the usage of available scientific knowledge. Originality/value – An analysis of the organization theoretical topicality of organizational change research is completely missing. The paper therefore not only contributes to the discovery of a blind spot in organizational studies, it possibly helps to explore the reasons for the high percentage of failing change projects.

The role of change management in trust formation in commercial banks

“…Yilmaz et al (2013) define change as a principle which organization shall follow in order to survive and be doing well. In turn, Wetzel and Van Gorp (2014) assert that organizational change attracts more attention than even organizational problems, and, because of this change management is appreciated highly. In fact, change management might be considered as a method that is not used for solving particular problems, but is used in assistance to change organization's policy and structure to avoid problems in the future.…”

Change and Tensions in Non-profit Organizations: Beyond the Isomorphism Trajectory

“…Although rich in volume, and with an overall focus on organizational change, research on NPOs does not on the whole discuss the concept of change per se. In the broader literature on organization theory, however, we find debates that criticize how we have come to assume that change is largely an out-of-the-ordinary condition, and stability is seen as the norm (Tsoukas & Chia 2002;Weick & Quinn 1999;Wetzel & Van Gorp 2014). Although the idea of the organization as a tightly coupled unit may have been abandoned as organizations are increasingly complex in terms of diversity of tasks, group compositions, geographical spread, and connected to a web of stakeholders, it is argued that 'stability, routine and order' (Tsoukas & Chia 2002: 567) is seen as the norm, whereas change is not.…”

“…Although the idea of the organization as a tightly coupled unit may have been abandoned as organizations are increasingly complex in terms of diversity of tasks, group compositions, geographical spread, and connected to a web of stakeholders, it is argued that 'stability, routine and order' (Tsoukas & Chia 2002: 567) is seen as the norm, whereas change is not. Academic debates have for a long time grappled with the definition of organizational change (Wetzel & Van Gorp 2014;Pettigrew et al 2001) and how it relates to process, continuity, routines, and creativity (Chia 2002;Jarzabkowski 2008;Langley 2011;Tsoukas & Chia 2002). This has resulted in theoretical developments that, ideally, facilitate the way we conceptualize and research organizational change.…”

Factors Affecting Personal Customers’ Trust in Traditional Banking: Case of the Baltics

“…Scientists agree that trust is a crucial element of successful banking sector development (Wetzel, Van Gorp 2014;Ling, Tran 2012;Phan, Nham 2015). Hence, researchers from all over the world pay close attention to trust in Internet/online banking (Boateng et al 2016;Szopiński 2016;etc.…”