Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to understand how and why employee attitudes to change might change over time; and to demonstrate what type of research might best capture this change.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper brings together three studies of the same organization, conducted at different times by the same researchers.
Findings
Employee attitudes to change in the three episodes are portrayed in terms of the assumptions that seem to underpin them. The first episode is characterized by a challenge to the basic assumptions employees have about their work; the second, by a fragmentation of assumptions according to sub-group; and the third, by the confirmation of a new set of assumptions about what work involves.
Research limitations/implications
The paper concludes that fieldwork of a longitudinal nature is something quite rare, and its incorporation into research design needs to move beyond dealing with it through an uneasy combination of retrospection and extended organizational exposure.
Originality/value
The paper provides a rare and valuable account of how employee attitudes to change might change over time. The research design on which it is based, though fortuitous in nature, overcomes a number of the weaknesses of more conventional studies in this area.
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to understand how and why employee attitudes to change might change over time; and to demonstrate what type of research might best capture this change.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper brings together three studies of the same organization, conducted at different times by the same researchers.
Findings
Employee attitudes to change in the three episodes are portrayed in terms of the assumptions that seem to underpin them. The first episode is characterized by a challenge to the basic assumptions employees have about their work; the second, by a fragmentation of assumptions according to sub-group; and the third, by the confirmation of a new set of assumptions about what work involves.
Research limitations/implications
The paper concludes that fieldwork of a longitudinal nature is something quite rare, and its incorporation into research design needs to move beyond dealing with it through an uneasy combination of retrospection and extended organizational exposure.
Originality/value
The paper provides a rare and valuable account of how employee attitudes to change might change over time. The research design on which it is based, though fortuitous in nature, overcomes a number of the weaknesses of more conventional studies in this area.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 38-60 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 9 Mar 2015 |
Keywords
- UK
- Organizational change
- Change management
- Public Services
- Attitudes to change
- Longitudinality