Bauer, Martin W. 
ORCID: 0000-0002-0800-8133
(1991)
Resistance to change - a monitor of new technology.
Systems Practice, 4 (3).
pp. 181-196.
ISSN 0894-9859
Abstract
This paper examines the credibility of the deficit model of resistance to change in a case study on office automation. A functional analysis of resistance to change is conducted using narrative interviews and documentary analysis. Resistance to change is shown to occur and to affect the implementation process: resistance is identified as a useful source of information, directing the attention of the change agency to improve hardware, software, and the organization. User attitudes were found to change: global skepticism developed into critical acceptance of the office system. The decision-making criteria changed during the 3-year period of the case study. More criteria were used, with user-friendliness becoming more prominent in the decision criteria. The case highlights some limitations of Lewinian field theory in studying resistance to change. Systems theory may provide a more useful framework, organized around the principle that resistance to change is a functional selfmonitoring subsystem guiding the internal adjustment of the changing organization and thus securing effectiveness. This approach may have wider implications for the analysis of social change.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://www.springerlink.com/content/104295/ |
| Additional Information: | © 1991 Springer |
| Divisions: | Methodology Psychological and Behavioural Science |
| Subjects: | T Technology > T Technology (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Oct 2009 16:43 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Sep 2025 05:53 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/25533 |
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