Avalanche environment change and organizational transformation
By: Fernando F. Suarez, Rogelio Oliva
Contributors: Oliva, Rogelio; Harvard Business School. Division of Research
Series: Working paper / Division of Research, Harvard Business School -- 03-085; Working paper (Harvard Business School. Division of Research) -- 03-085
Publisher: Division of Research, Harvard Business School
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 36
Description: This paper presents a study of organizations' response to an extreme form of environmental change that we call "avalanche change" - swift and profound changes that involve many environmental dimensions at once. Avalanche change forces firms to attempt a major organizational transformation in a very compressed timeframe. We suggest that existing theories on organizational change do not fully explain the range, depth, and timing of organizations' response when faced with this extreme change. We provide a comprehensive four-layer typology of corporate environmental change, highlighting the key elements that allow for a more rigorous classification and better understanding of such change.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.