Processual approach toward organizational change: A case of FSUE “Russian Post”

Abstract

Organization studies suggest a variety of approaches to organizational change. The majority of them considers change as a transition between various stances of an entity in two periods of time. In contrast, a processual approach views change as a process that literally predates and enables existence of the organization. This perspective provides a researcher with more fruitful data of interconnections between macro-level innovations and their implementations in employee micro-practices. Based on empirical data collected with organizational ethnography at FSUE “Russian Post” I illustrate how different by speed and content were simultaneous changes in the institutional context and daily work of the post offices. An introduction of IP-telephony and installation of Internet access points show that attempts to distinguish clear stages of change rather characterize organization as dysfunctional and irrational. At the same time, a processual lens overcomes these theoretical limitations.