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

Theoretical background
Lifecycle theories suggest that the organization’s stage of development
dictates the pace of change: when organizations grow, certain
transformations tend to occur (Barnett & Carroll, 1995). A common view is
that impetus for a large-scale change builds up over a period of time and is
then triggered, e.g. by a decline in performance or some other shock (Mitki,
Shani, & Meiri, 1997). A number of authors have studied organizational
inertia, described as a tendency towards stability and persistence that
opposes the impulse to change (Hannan & Freeman, 1984; Miller & Chen,
1994). The model of punctuated equilibrium (Gersick, 1991; Romanelli &
Tushman, 1994) describes how radical, discontinuous change (i.e.
“punctuation”) breaks the inertia. Other theoretical perspectives provide
alternative reasons for change. For example, institutional theory describes
mimetic pressures that drive isomorphism (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983) and
shows how organizational decision makers imitate patterns which they
believe are appropriate (Erakovic & Powell, 2006). Research on the
diffusion of innovations similarly examines how new management practices
and other innovations are spread within and across organizations
(O’Mahoney, 2007; Rogers, 1995).
Large-scale organizational change does not only concern private
organizations, but also the public sector. Following the international trend
of “new public management” that gained strength in the 1980s and 1990s,
public organizations experience increasing pressures to rationalize their
operations, improve performance and become more private-like
(Arnaboldi, Azzone & Savoldelli, 2004; Cheung, 1996, McNulty & Ferlie,
2004). Public sector organizations are being held increasingly accountable
for their funds, causing growing demands to improve the efficiency,
effectiveness and quality of public services. In line with these demands,
public organizations are encouraged to adopt market-based philosophies
and practices such as strategic planning, risk management, quality
assurance, and performance measurement (Dixon, Kouzmin, & Korac-
Kakabadse, 1998; Gomes, Yasin, & Lisboa, 2008). In addition to the
requirements of becoming more private-like, the contemporary public
sector is characterized by other trends and developments that require
changes in public policies, structures, and processes. In many Western
countries, significant challenges to public operations are being posed by the
ageing population, changing migration and employment patterns, novel
types of social issues, and environmental concerns (Wilkinson, 1997).
Concerning both private and public organizations, the past few decades
have witnessed a recognizable trend to make the traditional, bureaucratic
organizations leaner and more flexible. Various business improvement
philosophies and methodologies have emerged and given birth to popular
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