Making Sense of Strategic Change: A Systematic Review
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2025-07-05
Author(s)
Abstract
Over the last 30 years, scholars have provided rich insights into how organizational actors make sense of and give sense to strategic change. However, the respective literature has become increasingly fragmented, as different parts of the literature focus on different actor groups (top management, middle management, or frontline employees) and on different change phases (change initiation or change implementation). This fragmentation prevents a more holistic understanding of how organizational actors construct intersubjective meaning over time. Against this background, I provide a systematic review of the key sensemaking processes and practices through which top managers, middle managers, and frontline employees contribute to the construction of intersubjective meaning during the initiation and implementation phases of strategic change. My review highlights ambiguity as a central theme, fostering openness and flexibility during initiation while requiring careful management during implementation to ensure alignment. Drawing on this trade-off, I propose a conceptual model contrasting two key approaches to navigating these challenges: top-down and collaborative. This perspective deepens our theoretical understanding and offers actionable insights for future research, guiding scholars in exploring the interplay between organizational sensemaking, ambiguity, and time across organizational levels.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Event Title
41st EGOS Colloquium
Event Location
Athens
Event Date
3rd - 5th July 2025
Additional Information
Sub-theme 63: Strategies in Organizations: Unintended Consequences and Emergent Patterns.