A Case Study of Organizational Change Recipients' Beliefs on the Adoption of Project Management Practices within an Organization
Dissertation Prospectus Review Meeting October 19, 2010 Stephen Burgan
Diffusion of Innovation Diffusion of Innovation “Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among members of a social system� (Rodgers, 2005, p. 11). Innovation An innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption. The perceived newness of the idea for the individual determines his or her reaction to it. If an idea seems new to the individual, it is an innovation. Communication channels A particular type of communication in which the message content that is exchanged is concerned with a new idea. Diffusion research shows that most individuals do not evaluate an innovation on the basis of scientific studies of its consequences. Most people depend mainly upon a subjective evaluation of an innovation that is conveyed to them from other individuals like themselves who have already adopted the innovation.
Time The time dimension is involved in the innovation-decision process by which an individual or other unit of adoption passes from knowledge of an innovation, to the formation of an attitude toward the innovation, to the decision to adopt or reject the innovation, to the implementation and use of the innovation, and to confirmation of this decision. Social system A set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal. The members or units of a social system may be individuals, informal groups, and organizations.
Source: Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation.
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Main Stages in the Innovation-Development Process
Needs/Problems
Research (Basic & Applied)
Development
Commercialization
Typical past tracer studies
Diffusion & Adoption
Consequences
Typical past diffusion of innovation studies
Tracer Studies
Diffusion of Innovation Studies
Research devoted to tracing the research, development, and commercialization phases of the innovation-development process. Reconstruction of main events and decisions in the innovation-development process.
Research devoted to tracing the spread of an innovation is communicated through a social system over time and/or across space. The members of a social system may be individuals, informal groups, and organizations.
Tracer studies are retrospective, looking backwards in time at the innovation-development process. Sources of data are usually personal interviews, research publications, and archival records. Much could be learned from conducting prospective studies of the innovation-development process.
Usual diffusion studies gathers data from adopters after the innovation has diffused widely by asking respondents to look backward in time. Because cases of successful diffusion are usually selected for study, a pro-innovation bias is introduced into much of the research.
Source: Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation. p. 128.
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A Model of Five Stages in the Innovation-Decision Process
Needs/Problems
Research (Basic & Applied)
Development
Commercialization
Diffusion & Adoption
Consequences
consists of
Knowledge Stage
Persuasion Stage
Decision Stage
Implementation Stage
Consequence Stage
Knowledge Stage
Persuasion Stage
Decision Stage
Implementation Stage
Consequence Stage
Occurs when an individual is exposed to an innovation and gains an understanding of how it functions
Occurs when an individual forms a favorable or an unfavorable attitude towards the innovation
Occurs when an individual engages in activities that lead to a choice to adopt or reject the innovation
Occurs when an individual puts an innovation into use
Occurs when an individual seeks reinforcement of an innovation-decision already made
The Innovation-Decision Process The innovation-decision process is an information-seeking and information processing activity in which an individual is motivated to reduce uncertainty about the advantages and disadvantages of an innovation.
Source: Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation. p. 170.
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Persuasion Stage in the Innovation-Development Process Diffusion and Adoption
Knowledge Stage
Persuasion Stage
Decision Stage
Implementation Stage
Consequence Stage
Persuasion Stage At the persuasion stage in the innovation-decision process, the individual forms a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the innovation. Attitude is a relatively enduring organization of an individual’s beliefs about an object that predisposes his or her actions. The main type of thinking at the persuasion stage is affective. Attitudes (beliefs) toward an innovation frequently intervene between the knowledge and decision-making stage.
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Discrepancy
Appropriateness
Efficacy
Principal support
Valance
The need to change
The magnitude of change
The capability to change
The acceptance to change
The attractiveness of the change
Getting the right people in favor to change
Motivating others to change
A difference between the current and desired performance
Matching the right solution to the problem
Source: Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation.
Individual perception to change
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A Case Study Approach Holistic Unit of Analysis The Selected Organization
A Case Study Approach
Executive management Change agent(s)
Project managers
Project practitioners
Embedded Unit of Analysis
The primary qualitative strategy for this research is to use an exploratory, single case study utilizing a mixed methods approach with embedded unit of analysis. The Organizational Change Recipients’ Belief Scale (OCRBS) is the survey instrument to be used for the proposed research study. The proposed mixed method approach for this case study will utilize the OCRBS to determine what the organizational change recipients’ beliefs are and structured interviewing to determine why the organizational change recipients’ believe that way. Sampling of the organization will be based on stratified purposeful sampling of executive management, project managers/leaders, and project participants. The proposed research design will facilitate comparisons between the three subgroups.
Interpersonal Diffusion Network The most noted impact of the Columbia University drug study was to orient future diffusion research toward investigating the interpersonal networks through which subjective evaluations of an innovation are exchanged among individuals in a system (p. 65). The focus on the individual as the unit of analysis is often due to the assumption that if the individual is the unit of response, he or she must consequently be the unit of analysis. Even when the individual is the unit of response, network relationship can be the unit of analysis. Communication network analysis is defined as a method of research for identifying the communication structure in a system, in which relational data about communication flows are analyzed by using some type of interpersonal relationship as the unit of analysis (p. 125).
Source: Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation.
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Typical Research Design
Number of Adopters
S-shaped diffusion curve
Self-reported recall data
Time Point at which data are gathered
Typical Research Design Diffusion research differs from most other social science research in the fact that the time variable is not ignored. Diffusion is a process that occurs over time, so there is no way to avoid including time when one studies diffusion. One weakness of diffusion research is a dependence upon self-reported recall data from respondents as to date of adoption of a new idea. The typical diffusion research design asks respondents to look back in time in order to reconstruct their past history of the innovation experiences (p. 126-127). Source: Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation.
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Alternate Research Design
Self-reported recall data
Number of Adopters
S-shaped diffusion curve
Self-reported recall data
Self-reported recall data
Time Data gathering 1
Data gathering 2
Data gathering 3
Alternate Research Design An alternative research design is to gather data from respondents at several points in time during the diffusion process. When data are gathered from respondents at several points in the diffusion process, they do not have to recall information about their date of adoption of the innovation over a long time period.
Source: Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation.
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Proposed Research Design
Number of Adopters
S-shaped diffusion curve
Time
Point of adoption
Proposed Research Design Another alternative research design is a “point of adoption” study in which respondents are asked to provide details about their decision to adopt an innovation at the time they adopt (p. 129). This research design will reduce the pro-innovation bias by understanding the beliefs for adopting an innovation. Such “why” questions have seldom been probed effectively by diffusion scholars (p. 115). In addition, this research design will reduce the time issue resulting from measuring the self-reported recall data gathered from respondents as to their date of adoption. Source: Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovation.
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Research Design Diffusion and Adoption Knowledge Stage
Persuasion Stage
Decision Stage
Implementation Stage
Consequence Stage
Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization? RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs • • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design
Philosophy and worldview
Mixed methods
Case study
Research design
Findings
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Research Design Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization?
Persuasion Stage
RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design
Philosophy and worldview
Pragmatic
Mixed methods
Sequential explanatory design
Case study
Single case study with embedded unit of analysis
Research design
QUAN → qual = explain results
Findings
Mixing the data during interpretation
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Research Design Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization?
Persuasion Stage
RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design Philosophy and worldview
Philosophy and worldviews – A framework for gaining knowledge The philosophical assumptions consisting of a basic set of beliefs or assumptions that guide inquiry is called worldview (Creswell et al., 2010). Worldview is often used synonymously with paradigm, although each term has its own distinct meaning.
Pragmatic According to Thomas Kuhn (1970), a paradigm is a set of generalizations, beliefs, and values of a community of specialists. Worldview may or may not be associated with a specific discipline or community of scholars, which suggests the shared beliefs and values of researchers (Creswell et al. 2010). Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003a) suggested that at least 13 different authors embrace pragmatism as the “best” worldview or paradigm for mixed methods research (Creswell et al., 2010).
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Research Design Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization?
Persuasion Stage
RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design Philosophy and worldview Pragmatic
Ontology
Epistemology
Axiology
Methodology
Rhetoric
Singular and multiple realities
Practicality
Multiple stances
Combining
Formal or informal
The researcher provides multiple perspectives
The researcher collect data by “what works” to address research questions
The researcher includes both biased and unbiased perspectives
The researcher collects both quantitative and qualitative data and mix them
The researcher may employ both formal and informal styles of writing
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Research Design Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization?
Persuasion Stage
RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design Mixed methods Sequential explanatory design
Mixed methods – The need to explain initial results In some studies, the results of a study may provide an incomplete understanding of a research problem and there is a need for further explanation. In this scenario, a mixed methods study can be used to explain the quantitative results as to what they mean. Quantitative results can provide “general explanations for the relationships among variables, but the more detailed understanding of what the statistical tests of effect sizes actually mean is lacking. Qualitative data and results can help build that understanding” (Creswell & Clark, 2010, p. 9).
Quantitative data collection & analysis
Follows with
Qualitative data collection & analysis
Interpretation
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Research Design Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization?
Persuasion Stage
RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design Single case study – The debate of quality vs. quantity
Case study Single case study with embedded unit of analysis
“Creswell (1998) argues that “the study of more than one case dilutes the overall analysis; the more cases an individual studies, the greater the lack of depth in any single case" (Yin, 2009, p. 63). “An advantage of multiple cases is that the findings are often considered more compelling, and the overall study is regarded as more robust (Yin, p. 53). A significant disadvantage when undertaking a multiple case study is that it “can require extensive resources and time beyond the means of a single student or independent research investigator; therefore, the decision to undertake multiple case studies cannot be taken lightly” (Yin, p. 53). “The preference for a single case design can be strengthened by using an embedded design. An embedded design consists of subunits of analyses, which can “add significant opportunities for extensive analysis, enhancing the insights into the single case” (Yin, 2009, p. 52).
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Research Design Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization?
Persuasion Stage
RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design Single case study – The debate of quality vs. quantity
Case study Single case study with embedded unit of analysis
“The definition of the holistic unit of analysis and the embedded unit of analysis, as well as the definition of the contextual events surrounding these units, depends on the level of inquiry. The holistic unit of analysis is likely to be at the level being addressed by the main research questions” (Yin, 2009, p. 31). Holistic Unit of Analysis The Selected Organization * N = 45 to 75
Embedded Unit of Analysis Executive Management * N = 2 to 5
Change Agents * N = 1 to 5
Project Managers * N = 2 to 5
Project Practitioners * N = 40 to 60
* N Estimated number of participants
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Research Design Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization?
Persuasion Stage
RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design Research design The process of mixed methods research
QUAN → qual = explained results An explanatory design consisting of two strands executed in a sequence, the quantitative methods occurs first and has greater emphasis in addressing the study’s purpose, and the qualitative methods follow to help explain the quantitative results. Quantitative data collection & analysis
Follows with
Qualitative data collection & analysis
Interpretation
OCRBS survey PLUS direct observation
Semi-structured interviews PLUS direct observation
Holistic unit of analysis • N = 45 to 75
Holistic unit of analysis • N = 7 to 12
Embedded unit of analysis • Executive management (* N = 2 to 5) • Change agents (* N = 1 to 5) • Project managers (* N = 2 to 5) • Project practitioners (* N = 40 to 60)
Embedded unit of analysis • Executive management (* N = 1 to 2) • Change agents (* N = 1 to 2) • Project managers (* N = 2 to 3) • Project practitioners (* N = 3 to 5)
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Research Design Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization?
Persuasion Stage
RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design Research design The process of mixed methods research
QUAN → qual = explained results An explanatory design consisting of two strands executed in a sequence, the quantitative methods occurs first and has greater emphasis in addressing the study’s purpose, and the qualitative methods follow to help explain the quantitative results. Quantitative data collection & analysis
Follows with
Qualitative data collection & analysis
Interpretation
Direct observation Emic vs. etic approach
Physical setting
Personal factors
Social factors
Emic – insider knowledge Etic – outsider observer
Describe the setting Activities that take place Who participated
Language used Nonverbal communication Nuances of meaning Variations of participants’ experiences
Social interaction Unplanned activities that take place Observing what does not happen
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Research Design Research Questions RQ #1 – What are the organizational change recipients’ beliefs on the adoption of project management within the organization?
Persuasion Stage
RQ #2 – Why do the organizational change recipients’ believe that way?
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs
The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
Research Design Level of interaction between the data – Mixing the data during interpretation
Findings Mixing the data during interpretation
Greene (2007) argued that the level of interaction of the quantitative and qualitative data is a critical decision for designing a mixed methods study. An independent level of interaction occurs when the quantitative and qualitative strands are executed so that they are independent from each other. The researcher keeps the quantitative and qualitative research questions, collected data, and data analysis separate. The researcher only mixes the two strands when drawing conclusions during the overall interpretation at the end of the study. Quantitative data collection & analysis
Follows with
Qualitative data collection & analysis
Interpretation
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Organizational Change Management
Number of Adopters
S-shaped diffusion curve
Unfreezing
Change
Freezing
Dismantling the existing mind set
Readiness for change Resistance to change
Time
Point of adoption
Knowledge Stage
Persuasion Stage
Organizational Change Management Decision Stage
Implementation Stage
Consequence Stage
Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs The main outcome of the persuasion stage is a favorable or unfavorable attitude (beliefs) toward the innovation.
• • • • •
Discrepancy Appropriateness Efficacy Principal support Valance
A substantial literature base has emerged that examines various change phenomena (Armenakis & Bedeian, 1999). However, much of the literature fails to investigate the organization’s readiness-for-change to determine if adoption of the proposed change will succeed (Porras & Robertson, 1992). The focus of organizational change management research shows that most change initiatives result in failure and researchers are pointing to the readiness-for-change as a possible source (Porras & Robertson, 1992).
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