A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Purpose of Change Initiatives

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual framework for understanding how organizations create an accepted purpose for organizational change initiatives related to business processes. The framework is based on a longitudinal study related to an Action Research project and the ‘higher level learning’ from using a performance measurement system for change initiatives. Over more than four years, we followed and measured the developments and progress in two separate, major change initiatives related to different business processes in one case organization. The framework has a specific focus on the need for a clear and accepted change purpose. It tries to explicate the nature of change purpose and proposes different interrelated attributes related to the clear content of a change purpose (relevant, justified, urgent, clear destination, clear scope and explicit goals) but also attributes of how the change purpose then should be communicated to be jointly accepted. This operationalization of the nature of change purpose could also inform the current general discussion on purpose related to leadership. MAD statement The intention of this article is to Make A Difference (MAD) by addressing problems with change readiness by focusing specifically on change purpose. We explicate the nature of change purpose and operationalize it, proposing a conceptual framework grounded in a longitudinal study of two major change initiatives. The framework could help organizations create an accepted purpose for organizational change initiatives related to business processes. We discuss attributes related to the clear content of a change purpose (relevant, justified, urgent, clear destination, clear scope and explicit goals) and how the change purpose should be communicated to be jointly accepted.