How organizations communicate with shareholders during times of great uncertainty, such as during transformational change, is a relatively neglected area within the change management literature. We use the concept of “change conversation” and speech act theory to analyze GE's letters to...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential function of narratives of personal experience in engaging with unknowable reality. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on research on managers working with the unknown using narrative methods together with ancient and...

An important component of managers’ behaviour is their perceptions of power. Suggests that an examination of managerial resistance might be one way in which questions relating to managers’ behaviour can be answered, particularly during periods of imposed organizational change. By applying...

This philosophical paper explores why people have so much trouble understanding, coping with and managing change. It looks behind the problem to try to understand its origins. It provides an account of human nature that suggests people are “naturally” capable of coping with change but that...

This paper applies concepts from the Myers‐Briggs type indicator (MBTI) to the context of organizational change. A brief history and explanation of type theory and the MBTI is provided. Psychological type is measured using four bipolar scales, each dealing with individual preferences...

Purpose – To provide insight into the consequences of telework from the perspective of the teleworker and the household. The paper discusses the consequences of telework for the formulation of identities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on empirical work, which comprises...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to undertake a Machiavellian analysis of the determinants of organisational change. It aims to present a model of how power, leaders and teams, rewards and discipline, and roles, norms and values, serve as drivers, enablers or inhibitors of organisational...

Purpose – The aim is to analyse managerial behaviour using narrative analysis to identify stories that are often ignored, silenced or missed by the hegemonic managerialist narrative. Design/methodology/approach – An ethnographic narrative based on an 18 month period of participant...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the themes of resistance to organizations in Charles Bukowski's novel Factotum in relation to contemporary theory in organization studies, and to consider the ways in which the literary depiction of resistance can be used to extend theoretical...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of identity play defined as people's engagement in provisional but active trial of possible future selves. Design/methodology/approach – Current research and theorizing on the variety of strategies and behaviors used by...