An Organizational Change With Quarantined Members

Abstract

This study tackles the extent to which employees’ attributions and acknowledgments of the innovation implementation’s urgency play a role in their acceptance and readiness behavior during a crisis. Moreover, it highlights the importance of support and knowledge sharing among organization members on social media, given that an organizational change is taking place during a crisis while everyone is being quarantined. Qualitative data are collected from semi-structured interviews as well as from the chats on the WhatsApp group created for this quick innovation implementation decision. Findings reveal that during a crisis, employees’ sensemaking of the organization’s innovation adoption is triggered by attribution to constructive intentionality. The urgency imposed boosts the contextual dimension of the readiness for change, which enhances organization members’ commitment to implement the change. Moreover, when everyone is quarantined, social media is found to be the only means for maintaining social relations, ensuring colleagues’ support and sharing knowledge; and consequently boosting members’ readiness. The value of this research lies in the topic addressed, and in the unusual context in which the innovation implementation took place.