Anticipating and Managing Resistance in Organizational Information Technology (IT) Change Initiatives

摘要

Employee resistance can be a complex issue in organizational change. While many change leaders recognize resistance when it happens, many do not know how to anticipate or diagnose potential resistance accurately prior to the start of a change initiative. One type of change common within organizations involves Information Technology (IT) changes, which can manifest as either an IT-specific project or as a change initiative that must involve IT in order to be successful. Regardless, IT changes can impact employees' work and work life in numerous and sometimes unanticipated ways. The purpose of this paper is to discuss concepts around the role of IT in change, provide an understanding of issues of employee resistance specific to IT change initiatives, and present an application of these concepts in order to help change leaders develop a plan to effectively diagnose and manage employee resistance.