How Metaphorical Framings Build and Undermine Resilience During Change: A Longitudinal Study of Metaphors in Team-Driven Planned Organizational Change.

• NCJ Number: 253822
• Journal: Communication Monographs Volume: 86 Issue: 4 Dated: 2019 Pages: 501-525
• Author(s): Shawna M. Redden; Lou Clark; Sarah J. Tracy; Michael S. Shafer
• Date Published: 2019
• Length: 25 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined team-driven planned organizational change to provide insights about how team members metaphorically frame change and how their framing fluctuates over time relative to perceptions of team success.

Abstract

Change is a constant feature of organizing and one that requires resilience, or the ability to effectively face challenges. Although research provides important findings about resilience during chaotic change, less is known about resilience in mundane situations like planned change. The current study's three theoretical contributions extend theory about metaphors and organizational change, showing how negative framings of change are endemic to teams, regardless of perceived success; generate knowledge about resilience in organizing by showing how metaphors both build and undermine resilience; and extend applied theory about stakeholder participation in bureaucratic organizations. (publisher abstract modified)