This article describes the role of stage models in organizational research. In various sections of the article, we discuss the definition of stage models, different varieties of stage models, the way that stage models will characterize strategic change, and finally, the criteria that authors, reviewers, and readers ought to apply to stage models. On the whole, the authors conclude that stage models represent an alluring yet fragile form of explanation. The authors think that the limitations of stage models usually outweigh their potential benefits in explaining transformational change.
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