Organisational Change Management (Explanatory video)

Main ideas and concepts

• Sustainability transitions depend on organizations

  • Sociotechnical transitions research highlights the importance of organizations in enabling sustainability transitions.
  • Organizations can include firms, universities, NGOs, and similar entities.

• There are two-way influences between organizations and their environments

  • Recent research suggests bi-directional interactions between an organization and its environment contribute to sustainability transitions.
  • However, the internal process of organizations is often treated as a “black box” in transitions research.

• Organizational Change Management (OCM) helps “open the black box”

  • OCM is used to look inside organizations to understand how change happens internally.
  • These insights can support strategic transition initiatives to catalyze organizational change, thereby enabling sustainability transitions.

OCM framework: change initiation vs. change execution

• OCM differentiates two phases of change
  • Change Initiation
    • The initial start of change.
    • A problem is identified.
    • A vision is articulated.
  • Change Execution
    • The process of carrying out change.
    • Objectives are matched with actions to implement the vision.

OCM pathways: three ways change happens in organizations

• 1) Top-down pathway

  • Who drives it
    • Change initiation and execution are handled by top management/leadership.
  • Tools / examples
    • Scenario technique (used for change initiation)
      • Maps out several potential future paths
      • Helps the organization choose a suitable path
      • Supports building a vision
    • Clear and continuous communication (used for change execution)
      • Aligns people during implementation

• 2) Bottom-up pathway

  • Who drives it
    • Change initiation and execution are exercised by middle management and/or any individual in the organization.
  • Key requirement
    • There must be a process that enables and empowers individuals to bring forward ideas.
  • Tools / examples
    • Building internal and external networks
      • Facilitates exchange of knowledge and ideas
      • Supports both initiation and execution of change

• 3) Integrated pathway

  • Who drives it
    • Combines top-down and bottom-up facilitators.
  • Tools / examples
    • Joint projects and products
      • Employees contribute to change initiation
      • Top management provides resources needed for execution

Overall lesson / takeaway

• OCM provides a useful lens to understand how organizational change processes work.
• This understanding can help strategic transition initiatives catalyze organizational change, supporting sustainability transitions.

Speakers / sources featured

• No specific individual speakers are named.
• Referenced source areas:
  • Sociotechnical transitions research
  • Organizational Change Management (OCM)
  • Organizational examples: firms, universities, NGOs