Leading Technological Change

Argues that the effective management of technological change requires transformational leadership, and that one of the principal tools employed by the transformational leader is rites. Rites are elaborate, dramatic, planned sets of activities that promote change in individuals at both the psychological and the behavioural level. Illustrates the various ways in which managers are able to facilitate change through the use of social rites using data drawn from 12 detailed case studies of Manufacturing Resource Planning II (MRP II) implementations. While the focus of the article is primarily on technological change, it is clear that the lessons drawn here are more generally applicable.