REINVENTING THE STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISE? NEGOTIATING CHANGE DURING PROFOUND ENVIRONMENTAL UPHEAVAL

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Raynard, Mia; Lu, Fangmei; Jing, Runtian
• 署名单位: Vienna University of Economics & Business; Nanjing University; Shanghai Jiao Tong University
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4273
• DOI: 10.5465/amj.2017.1162
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 1300-1335
• 关键词: ORGANIZATIONAL-CHANGE; institutional change; STRATEGIC CHANGE; FOUNDING INSTITUTIONS; transition economies; VALUES; IDENTITY; CHINA; TRANSFORMATION; adaptation

摘要

This study builds theory on organizational change through a qualitative study investigating how a small state-run factory in China transformed into a global leader in power equipment manufacturing. Drawing on cross-level longitudinal data from the company's founding in 1966 to 2016, we unpack a process of organizational change that unfolded during China's transition away from a centrally planned economy. Our findings draw attention to the role of values work in facilitating and mitigating the risks of implementing highly controversial and seemingly immoral changes, which, in the case of the present study, were necessitated when the relevance of prior experience and organizing templates eroded. We present a model illustrating three strategies that, in combination, animate this values work: reconditioning, negotiated obsolescence, and mitigating risks of nonconformity. The model contributes to an understanding of how organizations reconcile the need for radical change with pressures for continuity and coherence. It also shows how managers find a balance between taking risks and minimizing them through efforts to time and align ongoing changes with shifting conceptualizations of appropriateness-both inside and outside the organization.