Routledge Studies in Organizational Change & Development
About the Book Series
It is often stated that some 70% of all change projects fail. Though this figure can be disputed, it is nevertheless clear that managing change is one of the most difficult tasks facing organizations today. In response to this, writers offer a wide range of theories and advice designed to aid managers and scholars in understanding and managing change, but which seem merely to overwhelm them with a profusion of competing and conflicting advice and approaches. In many respects, change is a field which epitomises the ‘rigor-relevance’ debate. We have many approaches to change which are built on sound research and robust theories, but which appear to lack relevance for managers. We also have a vast array of nostrums, practices and tools which managers use, but which appear to lack methodological or theoretical foundations.
The aim of this series is to cut through the confusion surrounding the study and practice of change by providing comprehensive and in-depth studies of existing and emerging approaches to change. The rationale for the series is that we cannot understand organizational change sufficiently nor implement it effectively unless we can evaluate the various approaches in terms of the evidence which underpins them, what they seek to achieve and how and where they can be applied. In particular, the series seeks to address, but is not limited to, the following questions:
- What are the emerging themes in the field of organizational change?
- Which theories and approaches to change have stood the test of time?
- What are the key debates within the field?
- How has the field been influenced by and incorporated newer approaches to organizational life, such as postmodernism, social constructionism, critical realism, and complexity theories?
- What is the current status of OD (organization development)?
- To what extent have countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America developed their own distinct approaches to change?
- How are developments such as social media and virtual organizations affecting the way organizations perceive and carry out change?
- Do successful organizations adopt different approaches to change than unsuccessful ones, or do they use the same approaches but more effectively?
Hybrid Working and AI: The Impact on Organizational Development
1st Edition
Edited
By Julian Randall, Bernard Burnes
March 23, 2026
The Covid-19 pandemic revolutionized the workplace, pushing organizations to rapidly adopt remote and hybrid working models. As we emerge from the lockdown, hybrid working has become a permanent fixture in many industries. However, the shift has created uncertainty for both employees and employers....
Edgar H. Schein: The Artistry of a Reflexive Organizational Scholar-Practitioner
1st Edition
By David Coghlan
May 26, 2025
The contribution of Edgar H. Schein to the field of management, organisation studies and applied behavioural science is both extensive and deep. For almost 70 years, he has creatively and systematically shaped theory and practice in areas including organisation development and change, career ...
Organizational Intelligence for Change Adaptability: The Knowledge, Learning, and Collaboration Cultures Approach
1st Edition
By Wioleta Kucharska
May 22, 2025
This book offers a pioneering exploration of how the synergy between knowledge, learning, and collaboration (the KLC approach) drives organizational intelligence and adaptability. Grounded in empirical research and case studies, it examines how the impact of the KLC approach varies based on company...
Agency, Change and Learning: Accounts of Internal Change Agents
1st Edition
Edited
By Julian Randall, Bernard Burnes
May 05, 2025
Despite the plethora of books on change, there appears a notable gap in the field; rarely is the authentic and candid voice of change agents heard. How often do academics or practitioners candidly state what they actually do when they are faced with managing change in their own organisations or ...
Organizational Behaviour and Change Management: The Impact of Cognitive and Social Bias
1st Edition
By Cornell Vernooij, Judith Stuijt, Maarten Hendriks, Wouter ten Have, Steven ten Have
May 27, 2024
Humans are social animals, and change is a social process. To understand this social process and explain the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours of individuals, knowledge of how the presence of others influences people is crucial. In this regard, bias is a concept with a lot of potential. Because ...
Organizational Cognition: The Theory of Social Organizing
1st Edition
Edited
By Davide Secchi, Rasmus Gahrn-Andersen, Stephen J. Cowley
May 27, 2024
Cognition is usually associated with brain activity. Undoubtedly, some brain activity is necessary for it to function. However, the last thirty years have revolutionized the way we intend and think about cognition. These developments allow us to think of cognition as distributed in the sense that ...
Organizational Change and Relational Resources
1st Edition
Edited
By Karol Marek Klimczak, Yochanan Shachmurove
May 31, 2023
Transitioning organizations to the new normal following environmental shocks, economic upheavals, and technological innovations is a challenge to classic organizational management. The main reason: because no single organization knows precisely what the target of change is. Resources created and ...
Organizational Change, Leadership and Ethics
2nd Edition
Edited
By Rune Todnem By, Bernard Burnes, Mark Hughes
February 28, 2023
Organizations and societies are facing extreme challenges that require action (IPCC, 2021). The UN's sustainability goals, demographic change, and the green shift are knocking on the door, while traditional education, and ways of leading and managing this development, often fail to keep up. ...
Leadership, Organizational Change and Sensemaking
1st Edition
By Ronald Skea
January 09, 2023
Organizational change literature often focuses on the leaders role in giving sense to others of the need for change and there is a plethora of models and recipes on how to influence employees thinking about change, organizational design and performance. Notwithstanding this ready supply of ...
Critical Perspectives on Diversity in Organizations
1st Edition
By Thomas Calvard
August 01, 2022
Decades of investigations into diversity in the workplace have created mixed answers about what kinds of effects it has on employees and teams, and whether or not it can be managed effectively to generate positive outcomes for organizations. In contrast to mainstream work from management and ...
Leadership and Digital Change: The Digitalization Paradox
1st Edition
By Einar Iveroth, Jacob Hallencreutz
May 06, 2022
Digitalization is on everyone’s lips as new technology changes business landscapes and conventional companies are outperformed by younger digital and agile contestants. In this volatile environment it seems more relevant than ever before to understand the aspects and business logic behind the ...
Changing Change Management: Strategy, Power and Resistance
1st Edition
By Darren McCabe
September 30, 2021
The literature on Change Management works from the premise that management possesses the power to achieve change and this is evident in that resistance is little more than a footnote in most textbooks. This assumption sits uneasily, however, with the high failure rate of Change Management ...