Vision change in a governmental R&D organization: The pioneering legacy as an enduring element

The present research demonstrates how a defense R&D organization wishing to deal effectively with a changing reality developed a vision that accommodated somewhat contradictory sets of aspirations and goals: the old and nationalistic together with the new, economically motivated, and market oriented. The novelty of the claim made in this article rests on recognition of the role of vision in organizational survival and change. Whereas the respective dynamics have usually been portrayed in normative terms, guided by the assumption that vision is a prerequisite for change, the conceptual approach applied in this article challenges the one-sidedness of this view. This new perspective dictates the careful scrutiny of the circumstances under which vision might influence change in enabling as well as disabling ways.