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

Theoretical background
Rainey, 2006). Top management acceptance and support is not selfevident,
but it may need to be actively achieved by the core change team
members (Stjernberg & Philips, 1993). To ensure senior management
support, project management literature has emphasized the role of a
project or a program owner (or sponsor or director), who “owns” the project
and is ultimately responsible for its success (e.g. Kloppenborg et al., 2006).
The role of the owner is especially crucial in project or program initiation,
ensuring a proper foundation for the effort and aligning the project or
program goals with the wider business interests (ibid.).
The importance of a supportive and receptive organizational atmosphere
for the success of change has been recognized (Beer & Walton, 1987;
Feldman, 1986). Some types of organizational culture have been
characterized as more receptive towards change. For example, the
traditional public sector culture and values have been described to inhibit
radical change efforts (Dixon et al., 1998; Harrow & Willcocks, 1990).
Feldman (1986), on the other hand, argues that organizational culture is a
source rather than an obstacle to change. Although some argue that change
processes are only likely to succeed if they fit with the organization’s
current culture (Bruch et al., 2005; Cunningham & Kempling, 2009),
others have viewed culture as the target of change, discussing culture
change programs (e.g. Gill, 2003). The manageability and changeability of
organizational culture has also been widely questioned (Parker & Bradley,
2000). Since organizational culture is described as enduring, organizational
climate or atmosphere may be a more useful concept in terms of
introducing change in organizations, defined as a more temporary
employee feeling about the organization (Smeltzer & Zener, 1993). The
change advocates are encouraged to actively create a favorable atmosphere
for change by their actions (Bamford & Daniel, 2005; Marks, 2007).
Mobilizing change
The third category of success factors involves a set of recommended actions
for successful management of change. These actions are not restricted to
the early stage of change, although they have been identified as important
tactics already during change initiation. Firstly, participative or
empowering approaches are often recommended for planning change
efforts. Radical change in particular is said to require significant
cooperation among the key stakeholders (Nutt & Backoff, 1993). A common
view is that transformation cannot be mandated, but it requires
involvement from all concerned (Kimberly & Bouchikhi, 1995).
Correspondingly, Bamford (2006) describes how managers should be
facilitators rather than implementers of change. Earlier research on
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