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

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