The Dynamics of Chronic Failure: A Longitudinal Study

Organizational failure and turnaround in public sector organizations: A systematic review of the evidence

“…The aims of the studies were multiple and diverse; 4 studies focused only on the symptoms, causes and patterns of failure, and the impact of contextual factors in contributing to failure ( 8 , 19 , 31 , 41 ); 13 studies focused only on the turnaround strategies and factors that affected their impact ( 2 , 11 , 12 , 27 - 30 , 32 , 35 , 36 , 39 , 40 , 42 ); and the remaining 6 studies explored both organizational failure and turnaround processes ( 25 , 26 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 ).…”

“…Several studies had no explicit theoretical framework to explain organizational failure and/or turnaround ( 2 , 8 , 19 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 38 , 39 , 41 ). However, some studies did use different stage theoretical framework including Argyowasmy’s 2- stage model ( 42 ) and McKiernan’s 6- stage model ( 25 , 26 , 31 ).…”

“…Included studies showed good managers leaving organization, a classic marker of failure, and a high level of management turnover ensued ( 25 , 26 , 29 , 31 , 33 , 34 ). The posts tended not to be (or could not be) filled or inexperienced managers were brought in.…”

“…McKiernan ( 21 ) argues that dysfunction in organizations in their organizational learning processes was a main cause of organizational failure. Several studies explored the primary causes of failure ( 26 , 31 , 33 , 34 ). Fulop et al ( 26 ) explicitly reported that organizational introspection or ‘eyes off the ball’, organizational myopia, organizational trauma, and organizational arrogance were the 4 important factors that had a negative impact on organizational learning processes, causing performance decline and failure among 9 case study NHS acute trusts.…”

“…Ravaghi et al ( 31 ) found that organizational introspection and organizational arrogance were perceived as 2 important factors having a negative impact on the organizational learning process. Some studies highlighted the lack of organizational learning in poorly performing organizations as a main cause of failure ( 33 ).…”