Internal and External Change Agents

Reconceptualizing Organizational Change Implementation as a Communication Problem: A Review of Literature and Research Agenda

“…Akey concern is whether internal or external change agents do better in implementing change. Case, Vandenberg, and Meredith (1990) define internal change agents as "those who are full time employees of organizations undergoing change" and external agents as independent consultants "whose association with changing organizations is fleeting" (p. 4). Hunsaker (1985) notes that there are relative advantages and disadvantages for both internal and external change agents: External change agents are more independent and tend to have more objective, fresher perspectives, but are strangers to the organization, may lack inside understanding, and may not be able to identify with the problems of the organization; internal change agents are more intimately familiar with the organization, know who the opinion leaders are, speak the language of the organization, understand the norms of the organization, and have greater personal motivation to bring about the success of change programs.…”

Implementing Change: Bad feedback requires attention

“…Change is often the result of a previous initiative or stressor, which serves as a 'trigger' for further development. These triggers are typically categorized as either internal triggers or external triggers (Case, Vandenberg, & Meredith, 1990). Whether internal or external, triggers and subsequent changes are commonplace within the industry and often come with a unique set of challenges, benefits, and risks.…”

Analyzing for Effective Entrepreneurship Strategy: A Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation Course

“…While this practice has its advantages and disadvantages (Rebeiz, 2011), we felt that a process-driven approach to eff ecting change through innovation and entrepreneurial behaviour would be more eff ective. Hence, when we took it over in 2012, we decided to follow the change-agent approach(Barratt-Pugh, Bahn, & Gakere, 2013;Case, Vandenberg, & Meredith, 1990;Daniels, 1994), and found the text Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Morris et al, 2011) ideally suited for this purpose. Students tell us this is a book they actually read, from cover to cover.…”