IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v23y2012i1p1-23.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Explaining Employee Engagement with Strategic Change Implementation: A Meaning-Making Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Scott Sonenshein

    (Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005)

  • Utpal Dholakia

    (Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005)

Abstract

Using a framework of meaning-making derived from social psychological research on how individuals manage adverse life events and research on sensemaking, we develop and test a theory about how frontline employees overcome the challenges of implementing strategic change. We find that certain types of meaning-making (strategy worldview and benefits finding) can create the requisite psychological resources that facilitate employees engaging in change implementation behaviors. The meaning-making change adaptation model (MCAM) we develop helps explain when and how employees adapt to change, thereby opening the “black box” of how to facilitate more effective strategic change implementation. We develop and empirically test the MCAM using qualitative and quantitative data from a Fortune 500 retailer.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott Sonenshein & Utpal Dholakia, 2012. "Explaining Employee Engagement with Strategic Change Implementation: A Meaning-Making Approach," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 1-23, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:23:y:2012:i:1:p:1-23
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0651
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1110.0651
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1110.0651?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ari Ginsberg, 1988. "Measuring and modelling changes in strategy: Theoretical foundations and empirical directions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(6), pages 559-575, November.
    2. Stone, Dan N., 1994. "Overconfidence in Initial Self-Efficacy Judgments: Effects on Decision Processes and Performance," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 452-474, September.
    3. Macey, William H. & Schneider, Benjamin, 2008. "The Meaning of Employee Engagement," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 3-30, March.
    4. Scott Sonenshein, 2009. "Emergence of Ethical Issues During Strategic Change Implementation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 223-239, February.
    5. Sally Maitlis & Scott Sonenshein, 2010. "Sensemaking in Crisis and Change: Inspiration and Insights From Weick (1988)," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 551-580, May.
    6. Dennis A. Gioia & Kumar Chittipeddi, 1991. "Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(6), pages 433-448, September.
    7. C. Marlene Fiol & Edward J. O'Connor, 2002. "When Hot and Cold Collide in Radical Change Processes: Lessons from Community Development," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(5), pages 532-546, October.
    8. Lee, Virginia & Robin Cohen, S. & Edgar, Linda & Laizner, Andrea M. & Gagnon, Anita J., 2006. "Meaning-making intervention during breast or colorectal cancer treatment improves self-esteem, optimism, and self-efficacy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 3133-3145, June.
    9. Rajdeep Grewal & Joseph A. Cote & Hans Baumgartner, 2004. "Multicollinearity and Measurement Error in Structural Equation Models: Implications for Theory Testing," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 519-529, June.
    10. Schwarzer, Ralf & Luszczynska, Aleksandra & Boehmer, Sonja & Taubert, Steffen & Knoll, Nina, 2006. "Changes in finding benefit after cancer surgery and the prediction of well-being one year later," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 1614-1624, September.
    11. Giuseppe Labianca & Barbara Gray & Daniel J. Brass, 2000. "A Grounded Model of Organizational Schema Change During Empowerment," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(2), pages 235-257, April.
    12. Andrew D. Brown, 1998. "Narrative, Politics and Legitimacy in an IT Implementation," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 35-58, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Back, Pascal & Rosing, Kathrin & Dickler, Teresa Antonia & Kraft, Priscilla Sarai & Bausch, Andreas, 2020. "CEOs’ temporal focus, firm strategic change, and performance: Insights from a paradox perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 884-899.
    2. Ryan Mullins & Raj Agnihotri, 2022. "Digital selling: organizational and managerial influences for frontline readiness and effectiveness," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 800-821, July.
    3. Geovana Alves de Lima Fedato & Vanessa Martins Pires & Guilherme Trez, 2017. "The Future of Research in Strategy Implementation in the BRICS Context," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 14(3), pages 288-303, May.
    4. Sanguineti, Francesca & Maran, Thomas, 2024. "Navigating the clouds: Cultural influences on technology acceptance in the workplace," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Mulki, Jay & Lassk, Felicia G., 2019. "Joint impact of ethical climate and external work locus of control on job meaningfulness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 46-56.
    6. Rory McDonald & Cheng Gao, 2019. "Pivoting Isn’t Enough? Managing Strategic Reorientation in New Ventures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(6), pages 1289-1318, November.
    7. Chatterjee, Sheshadri & Chaudhuri, Ranjan & González, Vanessa Izquierdo & Kumar, Ajay & Singh, Sanjay Kumar, 2022. "Resource integration and dynamic capability of frontline employee during COVID-19 pandemic: From value creation and engineering management perspectives," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    8. Tariq Mahadeen & Kostas Galanakis & Elpida Samara & Pavlos Kilintzis, 2021. "Heuristics and Evidences Decision (HeED) Making: a Case Study in a Systemic Model for Transforming Decision Making from Heuristics-Based to Evidenced-Based," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(4), pages 1668-1693, December.
    9. Soo Jin Baik & Hae-Deok Song & Ah Jeong Hong, 2018. "Craft Your Job and Get Engaged: Sustainable Change-Oriented Behavior at Work," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-13, November.
    10. Ann‐Kristin Weiser, 2021. "The Role of Substantive Actions in Sensemaking During Strategic Change," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 815-848, May.
    11. Constantinos Choromides, 2021. "Leading change in Financial Service Organisations: An Exploration of Employees’ Perceptions of Management of Change Using an Organisational Justice Framework," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 71(3-4), pages 67-97, July-Dece.
    12. Kieliszek, Anastasia, 2021. "A Signaling Theory Perspective on Building Supportive Responses to Organizational Change: An Experimental Study," Junior Management Science (JUMS), Junior Management Science e. V., vol. 6(4), pages 700-744.
    13. Guiette, Alain & Vandenbempt, Koen, 2013. "Exploring team mental model dynamics during strategic change implementation in professional service organizations. A sensemaking perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 728-744.
    14. Möhlmann, Mareike, 2021. "Unjustified trust beliefs: Trust conflation on sharing economy platforms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(3).
    15. Wenyan Sun & Kedong Yin & Zhe Liu, 2021. "Tax Incentives, R&D Manipulation, and Corporate Innovation Performance: Evidence from Listed Companies in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    16. Julia Balogun & Jean M. Bartunek & Boram Do, 2015. "Senior Managers’ Sensemaking and Responses to Strategic Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(4), pages 960-979, August.
    17. Ra'ed (Moh'd Taisir) Masa'deh, Dr. & Haneen Yaseen & Yasar Shatnawi & Bader Obeidat, Dr., 2018. "Reviewing the Literature of the Effect of Talent Management on Organizational Effectiveness," Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), , vol. 7(2), pages 139-156, April.
    18. He, Hongwei & Chao, Melody M. & Zhu, Weichun, 2019. "Cause-related marketing and employee engagement: The roles of admiration, implicit morality beliefs, and moral identity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 83-92.
    19. Asta Valackiene & Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene & Renata Činčikaitė, 2021. "Ensuring Employee Job Security When Implementing Changes in the Company: A Case Study of Lithuanian Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.
    20. Matt Statler & David Oliver, 2016. "The Moral of the Story: Re-framing Ethical Codes of Conduct as Narrative Processes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 89-100, June.
    21. Dorothea Kossyva & Georgios Theriou & Vassilis Aggelidis & Lazaros Sarigiannidis & Dimitrios Chatzoudes, 2021. "Retention of Generation Y Employees through High Performance Work Systems, Change Management and Employee Engagement," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4B), pages 66-86.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sally Maitlis & Scott Sonenshein, 2010. "Sensemaking in Crisis and Change: Inspiration and Insights From Weick (1988)," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 551-580, May.
    2. Niyati Kataria & Glen Kreiner & Elaine Hollensbe & Mathew L Sheep & Jeff Stambaugh, 2018. "The catalytic role of emotions in sensemaking: Evidence from the blogosphere," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 43(3), pages 456-475, August.
    3. Eero Vaara & Andrea Whittle, 2022. "Common Sense, New Sense or Non‐Sense? A Critical Discursive Perspective on Power in Collective Sensemaking," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 755-781, May.
    4. Joep P. Cornelissen & Saku Mantere & Eero Vaara, 2014. "The Contraction of Meaning: The Combined Effect of Communication, Emotions, and Materiality on Sensemaking in the Stockwell Shooting," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(5), pages 699-736, July.
    5. Julia Balogun & Jean M. Bartunek & Boram Do, 2015. "Senior Managers’ Sensemaking and Responses to Strategic Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(4), pages 960-979, August.
    6. Samia Chreim, 2005. "The Continuity–Change Duality in Narrative Texts of Organizational Identity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 567-593, May.
    7. Bövers, Jana & Hoon, Christina, 2021. "Surviving disruptive change: The role of history in aligning strategy and identity in family businesses," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4).
    8. Brown, Andrew D., 2018. "Making sense of the war in Afghanistan," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 43-56.
    9. Sevda Helpap & Sigrid Bekmeier-Feuerhahn & Luisa Pinkernelle, 2018. "Ambivalenzen in organisationalen Veränderungen [Ambivalence in Organizational Change]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 70(3), pages 209-241, August.
    10. Florence Allard-Poesi, 2015. "Dancing in the Dark: Making Sense of Managerial Roles during Strategic Conversations," Working Papers hal-01145772, HAL.
    11. Mathieu Djaballah & Christopher Hautbois & Michel Desbordes, 2015. "Non-mega sporting events’ social impacts: A sensemaking approach of local governments’ perceptions and strategies," Post-Print hal-03550805, HAL.
    12. Lionel Garreau & Serge Perrot, 2012. "Comprendre la dynamique de la socialisation organisationnelle: Une approche par le sensemaking," Post-Print halshs-00949067, HAL.
    13. Florence Allard-Poesi, 2015. "Dancing in the dark: Making sense of managerial roles during strategic conversations," Post-Print hal-01490734, HAL.
    14. Lionel Garreau & Serge Perrot, 2012. "Comprendre la dynamique de la socialisation organisationnelle : une approche par le sensemaking," Post-Print halshs-01054809, HAL.
    15. Loréa Baïada-Hirèche & Lionel Garreau, 2014. "Exploring the dynamics of ethical judgment : the sensemaking-based evolution model," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) halshs-01009708, HAL.
    16. Schuler, Benedikt Alexander & Orr, Kevin & Hughes, Jeffrey, 2023. "My colleagues (do not) think the same: Middle managers’ shared and separate realities in strategy implementation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    17. Simon L. Albrecht & Camille R. Green & Andrew Marty, 2021. "Meaningful Work, Job Resources, and Employee Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-14, April.
    18. Loréa Baïada-Hirèche & Lionel Garreau, 2014. "Exploring the dynamics of ethical judgment : the sensemaking-based evolution model," Post-Print halshs-01009708, HAL.
    19. Joep P. Cornelissen, 2012. "Sensemaking Under Pressure: The Influence of Professional Roles and Social Accountability on the Creation of Sense," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 118-137, February.
    20. Nicolas Battard & Paul F. Donnelly & Vincent Mangematin, 2012. "Integration of multiple stakeholders in scientific research : A sensemaking-sensegiving approach," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-01514751, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:23:y:2012:i:1:p:1-23. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.