When implementation falters: the challenge of having peripheral issues stick in organisations
Sundström, Mikael LU
and Holmberg, Robert
LU
(2018)
In Journal of Strategy and Management
11(2).
p.224-240
- Abstract
- Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study a class of issues that in spite of recognised needs and explicit managerial demands have proven hard to have “stick” in organisations (information security is used as an example). It offers a theory-driven rationale why superficially different issue areas can indeed be considered as instances of the identified class, and builds on complexity leadership theory (CLT) to explain how the related strategic challenges can be explained and possibly alleviated.
Design/methodology/approach
A. Kenneth Rice’s notion of organisations’ “primary task” is used to home in on its opposite that is here labelled “peripherality”. Existing strands of organisation research that can be related to... (More) - Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study a class of issues that in spite of recognised needs and explicit managerial demands have proven hard to have “stick” in organisations (information security is used as an example). It offers a theory-driven rationale why superficially different issue areas can indeed be considered as instances of the identified class, and builds on complexity leadership theory (CLT) to explain how the related strategic challenges can be explained and possibly alleviated.
Design/methodology/approach
A. Kenneth Rice’s notion of organisations’ “primary task” is used to home in on its opposite that is here labelled “peripherality”. Existing strands of organisation research that can be related to this notion are then revisited to ground the fundamental concept theoretically. The CLT is finally used to provide a detailed understanding of the underlying dynamics.
Findings
The paper explains how and why certain issue areas seem resistant to common managerial intervention methods even though it would seem that organisational members are in fact favouring proposed changes (a state that would normally increase the chances of success). It also offers ideas how these challenges may fruitfully be approached.
Originality/value
Problems related to the suggested “peripherality” class of issues have thus far been approached as wholly unrelated (and for that reason as idiosyncratic). The proposed framework offers a hitherto never attempted way systematically to link these challenges – and so structure and concentrate discussion about possibly common remedies. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study a class of issues that in spite of recognised needs and explicit managerial demands have proven hard to have “stick” in organisations (information security is used as an example). It offers a theory-driven rationale why superficially different issue areas can indeed be considered as instances of the identified class, and builds on complexity leadership theory (CLT) to explain how the related strategic challenges can be explained and possibly alleviated.
Design/methodology/approach – A. Kenneth Rice’s notion of organisations’ “primary task” is used to home in on its opposite that is here labelled “peripherality”. Existing strands of organisation research that can be related to this... (More) - Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study a class of issues that in spite of recognised needs and explicit managerial demands have proven hard to have “stick” in organisations (information security is used as an example). It offers a theory-driven rationale why superficially different issue areas can indeed be considered as instances of the identified class, and builds on complexity leadership theory (CLT) to explain how the related strategic challenges can be explained and possibly alleviated.
Design/methodology/approach – A. Kenneth Rice’s notion of organisations’ “primary task” is used to home in on its opposite that is here labelled “peripherality”. Existing strands of organisation research that can be related to this notion are then revisited to ground the fundamental concept theoretically. The CLT is finally used to provide a detailed understanding of the underlying dynamics.
Findings – The paper explains how and why certain issue areas seem resistant to common managerial intervention methods even though it would seem that organisational members are in fact favouring proposed changes (a state that would normally increase the chances of success). It also offers ideas how these
challenges may fruitfully be approached.
Originality/value – Problems related to the suggested “peripherality” class of issues have thus far been approached as wholly unrelated (and for that reason as idiosyncratic). The proposed framework offers a hitherto never attempted way systematically to link these challenges – and so structure and concentrate discussion about possibly common remedies.
Keywords Complex adaptive systems, Peripheral tasks, Primary tasks
Paper type Research paper (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ba3df9ea-64f7-45fe-bea3-adaeafebd060
- author
- Sundström, Mikael
LU
and Holmberg, Robert
LU
- organization
- alternative title
- När implementering misslyckas: utmaningen att få perifera frågor att fastna i organisationer
- publishing date
- 2018-04-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Complex adaptive systems, Peripheral tasks, Primary tasks
- in
- Journal of Strategy and Management
- volume
- 11
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 17 pages
- publisher
- Emerald Group Publishing Limited
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85046453236
- ISSN
- 1755-425X
- DOI
- 10.1108/JSMA-04-2017-0027
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ba3df9ea-64f7-45fe-bea3-adaeafebd060
- date added to LUP
- 2018-04-16 00:11:49
- date last changed
- 2022-09-23 04:04:51
@article{ba3df9ea-64f7-45fe-bea3-adaeafebd060,
abstract = {{Purpose<br/>The purpose of this paper is to study a class of issues that in spite of recognised needs and explicit managerial demands have proven hard to have “stick” in organisations (information security is used as an example). It offers a theory-driven rationale why superficially different issue areas can indeed be considered as instances of the identified class, and builds on complexity leadership theory (CLT) to explain how the related strategic challenges can be explained and possibly alleviated.<br/><br/>Design/methodology/approach<br/>A. Kenneth Rice’s notion of organisations’ “primary task” is used to home in on its opposite that is here labelled “peripherality”. Existing strands of organisation research that can be related to this notion are then revisited to ground the fundamental concept theoretically. The CLT is finally used to provide a detailed understanding of the underlying dynamics.<br/><br/>Findings<br/>The paper explains how and why certain issue areas seem resistant to common managerial intervention methods even though it would seem that organisational members are in fact favouring proposed changes (a state that would normally increase the chances of success). It also offers ideas how these challenges may fruitfully be approached.<br/><br/>Originality/value<br/>Problems related to the suggested “peripherality” class of issues have thus far been approached as wholly unrelated (and for that reason as idiosyncratic). The proposed framework offers a hitherto never attempted way systematically to link these challenges – and so structure and concentrate discussion about possibly common remedies.}},
author = {{Sundström, Mikael and Holmberg, Robert}},
issn = {{1755-425X}},
keywords = {{Complex adaptive systems; Peripheral tasks; Primary tasks}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{04}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{224--240}},
publisher = {{Emerald Group Publishing Limited}},
series = {{Journal of Strategy and Management}},
title = {{When implementation falters: the challenge of having peripheral issues stick in organisations}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-04-2017-0027}},
doi = {{10.1108/JSMA-04-2017-0027}},
volume = {{11}},
year = {{2018}},
}