An organizational change model to navigate change leaders, employee resistance and work-based identities

Van Dijk (Newton), R. & Van Dick, R. (2009). Navigating organizational change: Change leaders, employee resistance, and work-based identites. Journal of Change Management, 9, 143-163.

Description

The purpose of this article is to bring insight into resistance to organizational change—from the perspective of why employees may resist change and how change leaders approach resistance—by examining resistance in the context of identity change. The authors used the social identity theory and self-categorization theory to examine the interaction between the different parties involved in a change process.

Change may impact the way individuals within the organization categorize themselves and others, and the value placed on these categories. The identity-based process model of resistance to change includes a cyclical process of:
- Change and change management
- Impact: employee work identity
- Resistance
- Impact: change agent work identity

Steps for Using Method/Tool

  • Resistance and interaction
    For employees, the way different organizational members impact one another’s work-based identity is largely via change management; for change leaders, this is via the resistance attitudes toward the changes they are responsible for.
  • Mobility, creativity and competition
    Use of all three key self-enhancement strategies (individual mobility, social creativity and social competition) can help reduce resistance to change. Threats to employee work-based identities stem largely from a difference in the way they are treated by management compared to their pre-merger experience.
  • Self-enhancement
    The more involved change leaders are in decision-making regarding the changes, the more positive their attitude toward those changes.
  • Genuine or token participation
    To encourage greater buy-in to change from employees, ensure any encouragement to participate and ideas about the change are not token and are followed-up by communicating ideas with other change leaders. Implement suggestions where appropriate.

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