Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti
Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti
Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti
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Conclusion<br />
study also reveals the complex nature of the boundary between a temporary<br />
organization <strong>and</strong> a permanent organization by illustrating how this<br />
boundary is built up of different aspects, including the task-based,<br />
temporal, physical <strong>and</strong> spatial, authority related, social <strong>and</strong> identity-based<br />
as well as knowledge boundaries. The study illuminates the dynamic nature<br />
of the boundary already during the early phases of a change program.<br />
In the present study, a unique approach to change initiation has been<br />
taken by highlighting the boundary between the key individuals <strong>and</strong> the<br />
others in the organization. The practice of change initiation has been<br />
approached by identifying the different types of boundary <strong>activities</strong> that<br />
define, rein<strong>for</strong>ce, maintain, <strong>and</strong> cross that boundary. The study has shown<br />
how the boundary between an emerging change program <strong>and</strong> its parent<br />
organization is both an enabler <strong>and</strong> a barrier to the successful<br />
implementation of the change program. On the one h<strong>and</strong>, the boundary<br />
limits the interaction <strong>and</strong> sets the emerging change program apart from the<br />
surrounding organization. This creates a need <strong>for</strong> various kinds of<br />
boundary crossing <strong>activities</strong>. On the other h<strong>and</strong>, the boundary has a role in<br />
protecting the emerging program. To achieve this protection, the boundary<br />
may be purposefully strengthened <strong>and</strong> blocked. The current study has<br />
illustrated this complex interplay that takes place at the change program’s<br />
boundary, showing how the boundary is constantly being drawn, rein<strong>for</strong>ced<br />
<strong>and</strong> guarded, <strong>and</strong> also actively crossed from both directions.<br />
The study has also broadened the underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the concept of<br />
<strong>readiness</strong> <strong>for</strong> change. The findings suggest how <strong>readiness</strong> <strong>for</strong> change may<br />
be analyzed at the organization level to consist of the shared intent <strong>for</strong><br />
change, the resources required <strong>for</strong> mobilizing change <strong>and</strong> the sufficient<br />
autonomy of the change program. Through detailed descriptions of each of<br />
these three dimensions, the current study proposes an approach <strong>for</strong><br />
analyzing the conditions of successful change implementation already<br />
during the early program stage.<br />
The concept of boundary management provides a means <strong>for</strong> illustrating<br />
how <strong>readiness</strong> <strong>for</strong> change may be increased <strong>and</strong> the potential resistance to<br />
change may be overcome. The study proposes that the interaction taking<br />
place at the boundary is in a significant role in determining the course of<br />
the change program. The described interplay at the program’s boundaries<br />
increases underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the micro-level dynamics of how the success<br />
factors can be enacted in practice. In this sense, the present study serves as<br />
a bridge between the normative success-factor oriented research on<br />
organizational change <strong>and</strong> the contemporary research streams that<br />
appreciate the actual practice of the organizational actors.<br />
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