Choice Reviews Online · 2008 · 131 citations · 0 references
ManagementOrganization StudiesOrganizational BehaviorCultural ChangeInstitutional TheoryOrganizational ChangeCultural TransformationInstitutional ChangeOrganizational AdaptationOrganizational TransformationSocial ChangeTransformational ChangeBehavioral Change In OrganizationsCultural Change ProcessesNew InstitutionalismOrganizational Change CapabilityOrganizational Change CultureOrganizational Change ResistanceOrganizational EvolutionPunctuated Equilibrium Theory
Organizational change research traces a historical evolution of theories, questioning whether organizations truly change, how they transform, and how they renew themselves. The book synthesizes eight theoretical perspectives—adaptation, selection, configuration, cognitive, cultural, political, natural evolution, and social dynamics—to explain organizational change. The synthesis finds no definitive pattern or consensus, leaving the ultimate nature of organizational change as an elusive, unresolved question.
Introduction The Field of organizational Change: An Historical Account Focus of the book Organization of the book Part I Adaptation or Selection? Do Organizations Really Change? Chapter 1 - Adaptation and Growth Perspective Rational Adaptation Approaches Organic Adaptation Approach Life Cycle Approach Chapter 2 - Selection and Imitation Perspective Population Ecology The New Institutionalism A Look for the Outside Part II - Transformation or Evolution? Is Transformation Always Revolutionary? Chapter 3 - the Configuration Approach Momentum and Revolution: The Punctuated Equilibrium Model Design Archetypes: From Punctuated Equilibrium to Theories of Stability and Change Chapter 4 - The Cognitive Approach Organizational Change as Reframing Reframing as a Change of Knowledge Stucture Reframing as a Social Interaction Process Chapter 5 - The Cultural Approach Culture and Change: Functionalist and Interpretive Perspectives Cultural Change Processes Differentiation Studies Fragmentation Studies Chapter 6 - The Political Approach Power and Change: From Resistance to Renewal A Look From Above Part III - Natural Evolution or Social Dynamics? Is pattern matching in life, health, and sustainability firs are often seen in the literature, reports no definitive reports finding an acceptable answer? How do Organizations Renew Themselves? Chapter 7 - The Natural Evolution Perspective The Behavioural Learning Approach The Evolutionary Approach The Complexity Approach Chapter 8 - The Social Dynamics Perspective The Radical and Postmodern Approaches Discourse About Change Discourse Changing Over Time Change as Practical and Social Performance Looking to Change Conclusion Looking for an Elusive Object Culmination or Dissolution?