Resistance in HROs, setback or resource?

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this article is to analyse the role of resistance at team level in a change project focused on the maintenance activities of a high reliability organisation (HRO) that operates in the electricity distribution field. Design/methodology/approach -A grounded theory is built, analysing a large dataset of material (project reports, processes descriptions, internal memos and presentations), direct observation and semi-structured interviews. Findings -The paper documents a model where resistance has evolved over time. Differentiated responses to change of employees during the project and also different forms of resistance are observed. The outcome of the analysis shows the positive role of mindful inertia in the change project.Research limitations/implications -Outcomes are, by the nature of the research, deeply rooted in the context and the study is focused on a specific service of an organisation that is high reliability-oriented. Future studies should look at whether these insights are also relevant for other organisations. Practical implications -Mindful inertia can prove useful in achieving better performances in implementing change. Originality/value -With respect to the existing literature, the paper shows that in HROs acceptance of change and mindful resistance to that change interacts to improve the outcome process. Resistance, under certain conditions, can provide the very insights needed to implement change.

Drift, adaptation, resilience and reliability: Toward an empirical clarification

“…Improvement is seen as a necessity but change to accomplish this improvement is approached with caution. If practical change is introduced this will be done under a systemic and not simply a localized perspective (Binci and Cerruti, 2012). The dominant attitude concerning change in HROs we have observed is to always assure that every step toward improvement must keep the organization at least as reliable as it currently is.…”

“…They can police their own movements toward practical drift because they are likely to take a larger system perspective and think about system risks and consequences of changes or ''adaptations" they make in their own task domain. However, they can also add ''mindful inertia" toward others -resistance and critical appraisals to balance forces pushing for rapid and unanalyzed organizational innovation (Binci and Cerruti, 2012).…”

E-Procurement Adoption: A Case Study about the Role of Two Italian Advisory Services

“…Resistance is a defense mechanism that people activate in order to maintain the status quo in the face of change, protecting them from the perception of threatening issues like learning new skills or change to stabilized routines [44]. It should be managed according to the specific situation and it is considered the main failure reason for innovation projects, as people, and their resistance attitudes, are the most important variables for implementing change [45].…”

Productive Resistance within the Korean Public Sector: Exploring Organisational Culture

“…Notwithstanding calls to view resistance as multidimensional -for example, Piderit's distinctions of emotional, cognitive, and intentional -productive resistance risks assuming an overly purposeful agency. Thus individuals and groups resist and make suggestions in the form of counter-proposals to provide better understandings and additional options and solutions to what is currently on the table (see Binci et al 2012). Positive resistance becomes somewhat transactional and strategic and can soon lead to change management advice that: 'Change resisters should go a bit further and demand that the person proposing the change prove that what he or she is proposing is best for the company ' (de Jager 2001, 25).…”