Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti

Discussion
change program might not have been that large, at least regarding some
dimensions of readiness. For instance, at least initial top management
support for change was ensured by the top-down initiation process.
The program initiation in the other two cases, Center and Bureau, seemed
to follow a somewhat different process, originating at the middle
management level. The findings of the present study lend support for the
studies on the middle managers’ role, showing how middle managers serve
as important linkages between the strategic intents of the top management
and the daily reality of the employees by interpreting and communicating
change agendas (e.g. Balogun, 2003). The findings from Center and Bureau
also demonstrate how middle managers may actually initiate large-scale
change programs, based on the proposed scenarios of the organization’s
future and the pronounced strategies to address them.
The present findings provide support for the suggestion that the relative
power of the initiator of change has an effect on the appropriate change
style (Hope-Hailey & Balogun, 2002). The findings also confirm that top
management acceptance for a change endeavor needs to be actively
achieved (Stjernberg & Philips, 1993), especially if the change has been
initiated at the lower organizational levels or by a single top manager
without the collective commitment of the top management team. Since
programs are extensive endeavors that require significant investments and
aim at substantial organizational impact, top management approval and
support for the change program either must exist or needs to be actively
gained by the frequent boundary activities of the early promoters of the
change program. This was demonstrated in case Bureau, where the early
advocates of the program convinced the top management to support the
initiative through active legitimating and committing efforts.
Case Center further shows how top management acceptance needs to be
constantly maintained. In Center, top management had made the formal
decision to approve program initiation, but they still were not convinced of
the program’s ability to deliver the desired changes. Some top managers
consistently questioned the suitability of the program management
approach, and many had doubts about the viability of that particular
change program. The importance of gaining legitimacy and sufficient
autonomy for a change program is discussed in more detail in section 5.2.3.
To conclude the discussion, the findings in the three cases support
previous research on the contextuality of change (e.g. Pettigrew et al.,
2001), showing how the conditions for the transformation may differ in
terms of the characteristics of the parent organization, the change endeavor
in question, and the people promoting the change initiative. In line with
many recent project and program management studies (e.g. Artto et al.,
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