An Ecology of Resistance

摘要

This paper begins an inquiry into the subject of resistance. In diffusion theory and in the related field of organizational development, resistance is overdetermined. In other words, the topic is typically glossed and is too easily identified as an automatic, and by nature negative, response to change: a change that is to be managed. Resistance might be better viewed in terms of the potential elements that comprise it, including: individuals' internal and external responses to change, degrees of choice or fear, and/or levels of engagement and participation. In order to more fully conceptualize the theme, this research proposes studying how resistance is understood in a subset of disciplines and arenas where the construct is meaning ful.