Abstract
Intentional organizational change is a multi-level and multi-authored process in which resistance is an integral part of successful change. Resistance can be productive when it is taken as a challenge to normal power relations and taken for granted practices. Successful organizational change is even more challenging in the context of inter-organizational collaboration as several organizations each with their own interests, history and practices are then involved. The paper discusses a longitudinal case study (2012-2016) of resistance to bottom up changes in an inter-organizational collaboration in the utility sector. The findings of the study show that middle managers first resisted to changes in work practices proposed by shop floor employees. Five practices emerged in the inter-organizational collaboration to generate productive change; (1) delaying the making of decisions, (2) projectification of the change process, (3) adapting the speed of transformation, (4) keeping benefits and costs ambiguous, and (5) aligning of top and middle management and shop floor. The contribution of the paper involves an extending of the notion of productive resistance in an inter-organizational context and show an empirical case of resisting middle managers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 34-45 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Project management journal |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 21 Jun 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2018 |
Funding
The author(s) received financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research was financially supported by the nine organizations participating in the Innovation Atelier and by PMI’s Sponsored Research Program 2017 (SRP).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Philip Morris International |
Keywords
- resistance, collaboration, productive change, IOPs, bottom up change
