This study represents a first attempt to employ cognitive cause-mapping techniques to explore individual sensemaking during a planned organizational change. The authors evaluated the contribution of this method as a vehicle for exploring sensemaking processes during a change effort. Study data revealed that cause mapping generates a rich source of information, demonstrates a high degree of content validity, and is a particularly useful technique for capturing the dynamics of sensemaking. The study also provided needed longitudinal and structural analyses of cause maps. Results showed significant differences in cause map content over time without corresponding differences in cause map structure. An integrated model of sensemaking during organizational change is offered.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Armenakis, A. A.
, & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational change: A review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of Management, 25(3), 293-302.
2.
Baird, N. (1994). Exploring the teaching experience through cognitive maps to a new school environment. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, State College.
3.
Barr, P. S.
, Stimpert, J. L., & Huff, A. S. (1992). Cognitive change, strategic action, and organizational renewal. Strategic Management Journal, 13, 15-36.
4.
Bartunek, J. M.
(1984). Changing interpretive schemes and organizational restructuring: The example of a religious order. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29, 355-372.
5.
Bartunek, J. M.
, Lacey, C. A., & Wood, D. R. (1992). Social cognition in organizational change: An insider-outsider approach. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 28, 204-223.
6.
Berger, P. L.
, & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday.
7.
Bougon, M. G.
(1983). Uncovering cognitive maps: The Self-Q technique. In G. Morgan (Ed.), Beyond method: Strategies for social research (pp. 173-188). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
8.
Bougon, M. G.
, Baird, N., Komocar, J. M., & Ross, W. (1990). Identifying strategic loops: The Self-Q interviews. In A. S. Huff (Ed.), Mapping strategic thought (pp. 327-354). New York: John Wiley.
9.
Bougon, M. G.
, & Komocar, J. M. (1990). Directing strategic Change: A dynamic holistic approach. In A. S. Huff (Ed.), Mapping strategic thought (pp. 135-163). New York: John Wiley.
10.
Bougon, M. G.
, Weick, K., & Binkhorst, D. (1977). Cognition in organizations: An analysis of the Utrecht Jazz Orchestra. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22, 606-639.
11.
Bouwen, R.
, & Fry, R. (1991). Organizational innovation and learning: Four patterns of dialog between the dominant logic and the new logic. International Studies of Management and Organizations, 21(4), 37-51.
12.
Brown, A. D.
, & Starkey, K. (2000). Organizational identity and learning: A psychodynamic perspective. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 102-120.
13.
Coyle-Shapiro, J. A. M.
(1999). Employee participation and assessment of an organizational change intervention: A three-wave study of total quality management. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35, 439-456.
14.
Czarniawska, B.
, & Joerges, B. (1996). Travels of ideas. In B. Czarniawska & G. Sevon (Eds.), Translating organizational change (pp. 13-48). New York: Walter
15.
de Gruyter
. de Rivera, J. (1976). Field theory as human-science. New York: Gardner.
16.
Dubrin, A. J.
, & Ireland, R. D. (1993). Management and organization (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South-Western.
17.
Dutton, J. E.
(1992). The making of organizational opportunities: An interpretative pathway to organizational change. Research in Organization Behavior, 15, 195-226.
18.
Evered, R.
(1980). Consequences of and prospects for systems thinking in organizational change. In T. G. Cummings (Ed.), Systems theory for organization development (pp. 5-13). New York: John Wiley.
19.
Gemmil, G.
, & Smith, C. (1985). A dissipative structure model of organization transformation. Human Relations, 38, 751-766.
20.
Gilmore, M. J.
, & Murphy, J. (1991). Understanding classroom environments: An organizational sensemaking approach. Educational Administration Quarterly, 27(3), 392-429.
21.
Gioia, D. A.
(1986). Symbols, scripts, and sensemaking: Creating meaning in the organizational experience. In H. P. Sims, Jr., & D. A. Gioia (Eds.), The thinking organization (pp. 49-74). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
22.
Gioia, D. A.
, & Manz, C. C. (1985). Linking cognition and behavior: A script processing interpretation of vicarious learning. Academy of Management Review, 10, 527-539.
23.
Gioia, D. A.
, & Thomas, J. B. (1996). Identity, image and issue interpretation: Sensemaking during strategic change in academia. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(3), 370-404.
24.
Glaser, B. G.
, & Strauss, A. L. (1967). Discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.
25.
Harris, S. G.
(1994). Organizational culture and individual sensemaking: A schema-based perspective. Organization Science, 5(3), 309-321.
26.
Huy, Q. N.
(1999). Emotional capability, emotional intelligence, and radical change. Academy of Management Review, 24(2), 325-345.
27.
Isabella, L. A.
(1990). Evolving interpretations as change unfolds: How managers construe key organizational events. Academy of Management Journal, 33(1), 7-41.
28.
Jaffe, D.
, Scott, C., & Tobe, G. (1994). Rekindling commitment: How to revitalize yourself, your work, and your organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
29.
Kanter, R. M.
(1983). The change masters. New York: Simon & Schuster.
30.
Katz, D.
, & Kahn, R. L. (1978). The social psychology of organizations. New York: John Wiley.
31.
Kelly, G. A.
(1955). The psychology of personal constructs. New York: Norton.
32.
Kets de Vries, M.
, & Miller, D. (1984). The neurotic organization: Diagnosing and revitalizing unhealthy companies. New York: Harper Business.
33.
Louis, M. R.
(1980). Surprise and sensemaking: What newcomers experience in entering unfamiliar organizational settings. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25, 226-258.
34.
Löwstedt, J.
(1993). Organizing frameworks in emerging organizations: A cognitive approach to the analysis of change. Human Relations, 46, 501-526.
35.
Maruyama, M.
(1963). The second cybernetics: Deviation-amplifying mutual causal processes. American Scientist, 51, 164-179.
36.
Mead, G. H.
(1934). Mind, self, and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
37.
Mohrman, A. M., Jr.
, & Mohrman, S. A. (1989). Changing the organization through time: A new paradigm. In S. A. Mohrman, A. M. Mohrman, Jr., & G. E. Ledford, Jr. (Eds.), Large-scale organization change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
38.
Molinsky, A. L.
(1999). Sanding down the edges: Paradoxical impediments to organizational change. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35, 8-24.
39.
Morgan, G.
(1986), Images of organization. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
40.
Oshry, B.
(1995). Seeing systems. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
41.
Poole, P. P.
, Gioia, D. A., & Gray, B. (1989). Influence modes, schema change and organizational transformation. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 25, 271-289.
42.
Quinn, R.
, & Cameron, K. (Eds.). (1989). Paradox and transformation: Toward a theory of change in organization and management. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
43.
Quinn, R.
, & Kimberly, J. R. (1984). Managing organizational transitions. Homewood, IL: R. D. Irwin.
44.
Ranson, S.
, Hinings, C. R., & Greenwood, R. (1980). The structuring of organizational structures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25, 1-17.
45.
Roos, L. L.
, & Hall, R. I. (1980). Influence diagrams and organizational power. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25, 57-71.
46.
Seidman, I. E.
(1991). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and social sciences. New York: Teachers College Press.
47.
Shaw, R. B.
, & Perkins, D. N. T. (1991). Teaching organizations to learn. Organization Development Journal, 9(4), 1-12.
48.
Siegel, S.
, & Castellan, N. J., Jr. (1988). Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill.
49.
Sims, H. P.
, & Gioia, D. A. (1986). The thinking organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
50.
Smith, K. K.
(1982). Groups in conflict: Prisons in disguise. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
51.
Speitzer, G. M.
, & Quinn, R. E. (1996). Empowering middle managers to be transformational leaders. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 32, 237-261.
52.
Stevenson, W. B.
, & Greenberg, D. N. (1998). The formal analysis of narratives of organizational change. Journal of Management, 24(6), 741-767.
53.
Stubbart, C.
, Meindl, J. R., & Porac, J. F. (1994). Advances in managerial cognition and organizational information processing. Greenwich, CT: JAI.
54.
Thomas, J. B.
, Clark, S. M., & Gioia, D. A. (1993). Strategic sensemaking and organizational performance: Linkages among scanning, interpretation, action, and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 286-306.
55.
Thomas, J. B.
, & McDaniel, R. R. (1990). Interpreting strategic issues: Effects of strategy and the information-processing structure of top management teams. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 286-306.
56.
Van de Ven, A. H.
, & Poole, M. S. (1995). Explaining development and change in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 510-541.
57.
Voyer, J. J.
, Gould, J. M., & Ford, D. N. (1997). Systematic creation of organizational anxiety: An empirical study. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 33, 471-489.
58.
Walsh, J. P.
(1995). Managerial and organizational cognition: Notes from a trip down memory lane. Organizational Science, 6(3), 280-280.
59.
Weber, P. S.
, & Manning, M. R. (1998). A comparative framework for large group organizational change interventions. In R. W. Woodman & W. A. Pasmore (Eds.), Research in Organizational Change and Development, 11, 225-252.
60.
Weick, K. E.
(1979). The social psychology of organizing (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
61.
Weick, K. E.
(1995). Sensemaking in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
62.
Weick, K. E.
, & Bougon, M. G. (1986). Organizations as cognitive maps. In H. P. Sims, Jr., & D. A. Gioia (Eds.), The thinking organization (pp. 102-135). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
63.
Weick, K. E.
, & Quinn, R. E. (1999). Organizational change and development. Annual Review of Psychology, 50, 361-386.
64.
Zander, A. F.
(1950). Resistance to change—Its analysis and prevention. Advanced Management, 4(5), 9-11.
