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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Theoretical background<br />
Fern<strong>and</strong>ez & Rainey, 2006). Kotter (1995) further emphasizes how the<br />
guiding team must be powerful in terms of titles, in<strong>for</strong>mation, expertise,<br />
reputation, <strong>and</strong> relationships. Change management literature regularly<br />
discusses change champions or change agents (e.g. Balogun, Gleadle, Hope<br />
Hailey, & Willmott, 2005; Chrusciel, 2008; Ginsberg & Abrahamson, 1991),<br />
described as change advocates that shape the conditions <strong>for</strong> change, take<br />
part in leading the change ef<strong>for</strong>t <strong>and</strong> actively promote change by their<br />
example. In these accounts it often remains unclear whether the described<br />
change agents have a <strong>for</strong>mal role in the change project or program<br />
organization, e.g., as a program manager or owner. To date, the<br />
relationship between the change roles described in the change management<br />
literature <strong>and</strong> project or program management roles remains largely<br />
unclear (Stummer & Zuchi, 2010).<br />
The larger the change ef<strong>for</strong>t, the more dedicated personnel is needed<br />
(Stoddard & Jarvenpaa, 1995). Although the core team may be small, it may<br />
be supported by a group of secondary participants. Since the required skills<br />
<strong>and</strong> resources cannot often be found within the organization (Dobson,<br />
2001), external consultants may be called in to support the core team <strong>and</strong><br />
to provide data, skills, suggestions, <strong>and</strong> ideas. Consultants may help in<br />
clarifying visions, motivating, training, <strong>and</strong> facilitating the change<br />
processes (Beer & Walton, 1987; Dobson, 2001; Saxton, 1995). Besides their<br />
expert role, external consultants may play a critical role as provocateurs<br />
that challenge the managers’ thinking <strong>and</strong> as third party legitimizers of<br />
plans <strong>and</strong> decisions (Ginsberg & Abrahamson, 1991; Saxton, 1995). Beer<br />
<strong>and</strong> Nohria (2000) suggest that consultants may be especially helpful<br />
during the early stage of change. Still, the use of consultants involves<br />
challenges. Consultants often do not possess much knowledge about the<br />
business <strong>and</strong> history of the organization, <strong>and</strong> it may take time <strong>for</strong> them to<br />
learn the required details (Dobson, 2001). Also, if consultants are<br />
responsible <strong>for</strong> designing a change solution, much of the knowledge may be<br />
lost when the consultants leave the organization, reducing the<br />
organization’s ability to maintain <strong>and</strong> develop the solution (ibid.).<br />
Visible senior management involvement <strong>and</strong> support is also identified as<br />
a necessary condition <strong>for</strong> change (McNulty & Ferlie, 2004). The importance<br />
of top management support is highlighted in radical change (Lok et al.,<br />
2005), <strong>and</strong> particularly in the early stage of change, in developing the basic<br />
ideas (Mikkelsen et al., 1991). Top management may have an integral role<br />
in leading the change ef<strong>for</strong>t, communicating about the change, <strong>and</strong><br />
resolving potential conflicts (Martin & Huq, 2007). Especially when a<br />
change ef<strong>for</strong>t is not led by a top management “champion”, senior<br />
management should demonstrate its support <strong>for</strong> the change (Fern<strong>and</strong>ez &<br />
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