The multiple faces of collective responses to organizational change: Taking stock and moving forward

Abstract

SummaryThis special issue focuses on collective responses to organizational change with a goal of enhancing knowledge on the emergence of these higher‐level responses to change. While researchers acknowledge that organizational change inherently involves processes at multiple levels (individual, team, organization), scholars have only recently begun to increasingly promote models of collective responses to change. Spotlighting this gap, in this paper, we explore the dynamic character of collective responses to change, note the multiple ways in which these may develop, and identify theoretical frames rooted in psychology and sociology. This approach contributes to the growing field of responses beyond the individual. Through the papers in the special issue, we offer a framework based on Bourdieu's theory of practice as a platform for bringing together perspectives on agency and structuralism on how responses to change are shaped in the collective. With this framing, we provide direction for future research on successful organizational change through the interrelations between individuals and collectives undergoing change.