Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the importance of various change principles in assisting change in three public sector organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The researchers carried out interviews and used focus groups in assessing the principles and strategies which...

Purpose – The concept of common sense has not received much attention in the organization literature. In this paper, I propose a model that links a change agent's self‐awareness and reflexivity, his or her sensemaking of common sense perspectives related to planned change, and buy‐in among...

Purpose – Peter F. Drucker (1909‐2005) was an influential modern management theorist. This paper, however, aims to challenge his diagnosis and prescriptions on the public sector for over‐simplifying several complex issues and not being sufficiently comprehensive. With the support of the...

Purpose – This paper aims to deal with the influence of a participatory management style along a change process, specifically in seeking to analyze the effect of participative management style on resistance to change and its effects on change performance. Design/methodology/approach – After...

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to test the moderating role of dispositional resistance in achieving sustainable organisational change. Design/methodology/approach – Four studies were conducted in the period 2005‐2007. Each study included the participation of individuals...

Traditionally, resistance has been cast as adversarial ‐ the enemy of change that must be defeated if change is to be successful. While it is apparent that classical management theory viewed resistance in such a manner, recent literature contains much evidence that suggests resistance may...

As more and more organisations need not only be competitive in their internal markets, but need to be globally competitive, these economic changes impact on the content and context within which business education takes place. Company changes in the new millennium will impact on educational...

Creativity underpins innovation; innovation underpins enterprise. In the business world it is enterprises, not ideas or products on their own, that make money. Much attention is given to new product development and to processes of innovation. Indeed, there are increasingly popular techniques to...

Purpose – Between 1997 and 2002, Shell changed the way it organised its advertising activity, switching from a local approach to a global organisation. The transition was significant, given the group's long history of decentralisation. It was also very successful. This paper explores how this...

Purpose – To analyse how differences in decision‐making affected the integration of the R&D functions after Ford's acquisition of Volvo Cars. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is carried out in two steps. Step one analyses which type of approach Ford employed to integrate Volvo...