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

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Theoretical background
mainly on the unfreezing stage, which will be followed by “moving” and
“freezing”.
The early stage of change has been characterized as particularly complex
(Zand & Sorensen, 1975), and also as especially critical, since it guides the
entire venture (Gioia & Chittipeddi, 1991). During the early stage,
important decisions are taken on what needs to be changed and how (Bruch
et al., 2005), and the organization is prepared for change (Howes & Quinn,
1978). Studies have shown how the early stage of radical change involves
different techniques (Stoddard & Jarvenpaa, 1995) and even a different
organizing structure (Dobson, 2001) than the implementation stage.
Activities related to the early stage have been listed, such as analyzing the
current state, providing rationale for the change, collecting baseline data,
creating plans, designing the organizing structure, assembling resources,
and training personnel (Klein, 1996). Still, empirical research has mostly
focused on the implementation stage, whereas the early stage of large-scale
change has received surprisingly little attention (Bruch et al., 2005). This
study aims to increase the understanding of this crucial stage of a change
effort. Next, the discussion is turned to the successful management of the
early stage of change. Before that, the definition of success in organizational
change is discussed.
2.2.3 Successful management of the early stage of organizational
change
Change programs aim at improved organizational performance, growth,
and survival. Financial performance is the most common criterion for
assessing the success of change, typically measured by return on
investment, return on assets, profitability, and sales growth (Barnett &
Carroll, 1995; Waclawski, 2002). Finding the suitable criteria for evaluating
organizational change is often difficult, and even if the agreement on the
success criteria is reached, it may be difficult to prove that the observed
changes have really resulted from a particular intervention (Wilkinson,
1997). Criteria that may relate more closely to a specific change program
(but also are more subjective and difficult to measure) include the
institutionalization of the changes, the frequency of use of the results, and
the perceptions of the involved employees about the achievement of the
change goals (Nutt, 1986).
Large-scale organizational change involves risks, and often the
consequences of changing are not fully know (Balogun & Johnson, 2005;
Bruch et al., 2005). Change programs may have negative outcomes, like
stress, cynicism, and reduced commitment (Armenakis & Bedeian, 1999),
and the success of a change program may depend on the perspective taken.
Typical change-related employee concerns include the threat of job loss and