Making sense of a change management in public administration institutions: Change imitation as employee response to new requirements

Abstract

Macro-level reforms of public administration in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries is discussed broad range in scientific studies. However, the adoption of innovative management tools that have proved their worth in the private sector has received only limited attention. This paper presents probably the first study on the role of emotions and sensemaking in managing radical changes in the public administration institutions in CEE. We found that instead of leading to active resistance and change rejection, as confirmed in earlier research proceeded in Western Europe countries, negative emotions led to passive resistance based on behaviour of change imitation. By drawing on the theory of sensemaking, we also divulge how the archetype of the “Soviet times” is employed to explain novel and contradictory events caused by change implementation.