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 />
allowing flexibility <strong>and</strong> reflection. In all, the emerging field of program<br />
management research can be viewed as an attempt to integrate project<br />
management knowledge with the special features of strategic, large-scale<br />
organizational change.<br />
Previous research has shown how programs differ from projects in many<br />
respects, <strong>and</strong> thus require different management approaches. This study<br />
focuses on the early program stage where these differences are especially<br />
visible. Due to the high levels of uncertainty <strong>and</strong> complexity the content of<br />
the program may not be planned in detail, but the content will evolve<br />
during the program lifecycle. Program initiation is likely to differ from<br />
traditional projects in the sense that the focus is not on developing detailed<br />
action plans. Instead, other kinds of <strong>activities</strong> are likely to be emphasized.<br />
The role, goals <strong>and</strong> scope of a change program need to be clarified <strong>and</strong><br />
communicated <strong>and</strong> resources must be acquired. Also, the parent<br />
organization as a target <strong>and</strong> a client of the resulting change must be<br />
prepared <strong>for</strong> change, <strong>and</strong> thus actively involved in change initiation <strong>and</strong><br />
planning. The aim of the early program <strong>activities</strong> is defined in this<br />
dissertation as creating <strong>readiness</strong> <strong>for</strong> change implementation.<br />
Research fields of temporary organizations, program management <strong>and</strong><br />
organizational change all highlight the contextual nature of change ef<strong>for</strong>ts<br />
<strong>and</strong> advocate careful management of a change ef<strong>for</strong>t’s (a program’s)<br />
external relations. All these streams of literature have mobilized calls <strong>for</strong><br />
more empirical research on these processes. One perspective to these<br />
interactions is offered by the research on organizational boundaries <strong>and</strong><br />
boundary <strong>activities</strong>. <strong>Boundary</strong> <strong>activities</strong> are per<strong>for</strong>med to build, shape,<br />
cross, <strong>and</strong> guard the boundaries between organizational units. A change<br />
program’s boundary is presumably permeable <strong>and</strong> dynamic <strong>and</strong> requires<br />
active management. Although the importance of boundary <strong>activities</strong> in<br />
temporary organization contexts has been acknowledged, previous research<br />
has not explicitly examined boundary <strong>activities</strong> in the context of large-scale<br />
change programs. The current study attempts to link these boundary<br />
<strong>activities</strong> of change program initiation with the conception of <strong>readiness</strong> <strong>for</strong><br />
change, thus integrating research streams on temporary organizations,<br />
program management, organizational change, <strong>and</strong> boundary <strong>activities</strong>.<br />
2.5.2 Research framework <strong>and</strong> research questions<br />
This dissertation examines the management of the early stage of a change<br />
program <strong>and</strong> focuses on the interplay between the program, viewed as a<br />
temporary organization, <strong>and</strong> its parent organization, viewed as the client<br />
<strong>and</strong> the environment of the program. More specifically, the study examines<br />
the boundary that emerges between a change program <strong>and</strong> its parent<br />
organization, <strong>and</strong> identifies different kinds of boundary <strong>activities</strong> that the<br />
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