Visual management for a dynamic strategic change

Abstract

Purpose Strategic changes in an organization will face challenges not only related to the changes as such but also with regard to how the vision of the future is interpreted and understood by the organization. Visual management is a field of research that could contribute to change management research as a means to facilitate management of the dynamics in a change process and to facilitate the process of communication. The purpose of this paper is to problematize episodic change processes with regard to communication and to contribute with a proposed model on how to facilitate dynamic strategic change management using visual management. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses an interdisciplinary approach by linking change management literature to visual communication to be used for visual management. Findings A proposed model presents how a dynamic episodic change process can be managed in terms of visual management, potential pitfalls to avoid, and what ambidextrous capabilities are needed throughout the complete episodic change. Research limitations/implications The proposed model is still yet theoretical, based on a literature review of dynamic change management and visual communication. Future research will validate the model in practice to confirm its robustness. Practical implications An implementation of visual management in Kotter’s (1995) eight steps on how to strategically manage change in combination with theories on ambidexterity and episodic change is suggested. Originality/value The paper contributes to how visual management can support change management by combining visual communication and change management.