Sustaining innovation and change in government sector organizations

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an examination of the processes involved in institutionalizing change in government organizations. Following the lens of organizational learning, the authors seek to delineate strategies for fashioning long-lasting change in government settings. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from a large body of literature in organizational studies and public administration, this paper presents arguments and propositions about how organizational politics can enhance learning in government. The paper integrates the concept of power into the organizational learning framework, taking the 4I learning framework as a point of departure. Findings The paper formulates insights into how specific power mechanisms can be combined to facilitate the development of flows of learning in government organizations that are in change management process, and concludes that government settings represent a good example of organizations where pathological patterns of learning will be preeminent. Practical implications The paper provides an extension to discussions of the political dynamics of organizational learning. In doing so, the paper highlights the importance of the often over-looked feedback process in organizational learning. It also brings to the fore the importance of strategic leadership in change management processes in government sector organizations. Originality/value The paper serves to add impetus to change management discourse in the public sector by presenting a framework for institutionalizing learning in government settings. The paper also sheds light on how different forms of power may be balanced at each stage of the learning process in order to enhance institutionalization.