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Journal of Change Management
Reframing Leadership and Organizational Practice
Volume 23, 2023 - Issue 3
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Articles

Acting Strategically During Change: A Process and Dwelling World-view Approach

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Pages 250-268 | Published online: 27 Jul 2023
 

ABSTRACT

Strategic change processes are characterized by high levels of ambiguity and uncertainty. Responding to these changes requires a dynamic approach with a wider set of skills and coping mechanisms. In this article, we argue for a broad focus on change that considers the tacit elements of strategising. We adopted a dwelling worldview as well as a strong process ontology combined with a practice perspective to capture the complexity and richness of a strategic change process with a focus on identity and legitimacy dynamics. This article reports on an emerging process model of how individuals in non-managerial positions respond to and make sense of planned strategic change. The study followed a longitudinal, processual approach using a South African business school as the research setting. The findings of the study contribute towards a deepened understanding of the dynamics that occur within strategic change processes, showing that strategising is a dynamic process involving instinct, adjustment and phronetic action. Understanding how individuals respond, adapt and cope during strategic change processes provides potentially helpful insight into how strategic change is enabled or constrained, which could have future implications on how change processes are designed or implemented.

MAD statement

The intention of this article is to Make a Difference (MAD) by presenting a dynamic and temporal account of strategic emergence and change within an evolving organizational context, from the perspective of individuals in non-managerial positions. We adopted an oblique approach to uncover the dynamic and subtle nature of identity and legitimacy ‘as-process’, viewing these constructs as unstable and always in ‘becoming’ exposing the tacit elements of strategy during a strategic change process. The emerging process model reconceptualises how agency, process and practice interrelate within a dwelling world-view perspective.

Acknowledgements

This article submitted is partially based on the work documented in the thesis: de Metz, N. (2021). Organizational identity and legitimacy dynamics during a strategic change process: a case study at a South African Business School. [Doctoral dissertation, University of South Africa]. UnisaETD: electronic theses and dissertations. Retrieved from https:// https://hdl.handle.net/10500/2820.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical Approval

Ethical clearance was obtained by the Department of Business Management Review Committee in line with the Research Ethics Policy of the University of South Africa (Ref#:2015_CRERC_021). Informed consent was obtained from each participant prior to conducting the research. Ethical clearance certificate expires 31 December 2024.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

N. de Metz

Nadine de Metz is a senior lecturer in Strategic Management within the Department of Business Management at the University of South Africa (Unisa). She earned a PhD in Management Studies, and her interests include strategic management, strategic change, practice, and process research with a focus on individuals’ behaviour and actions within an organisational context.

M. Jansen van Rensburg

Mari Jansen van Rensburg is the Campus Director of Middlesex University, Mauritius. Mari has extensive experience in multi-cultural and multidisciplinary settings with in-depth knowledge of higher education in Africa. Mari specializes and publishes in the fields of strategic and relationship marketing as well as change and strategic management, and her formal qualifications include a BCom (Hons) Marketing Management, an MCom from the University of Pretoria and a DCom (Business Management) conferred by Unisa.

A. Davis

Annemarie Davis is an associate professor in Strategic Management and conducted her doctoral research within the strategy-as-practice perspective. She is a qualitative researcher with a focus on micro-strategizing practices, and favours studies in the middle manager context.

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