Leadership and Stratigic Change in the Od
Academy of Management Journal - In Press
The Dynamics of Collective Leadership and Strategic Change in Pluralistic Organizations1
Jean-Louis Denis Département d'administration de la santé, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6192 Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Canada H3C 3J7 Tel: (514)-343-6031 Fax: (514)-343-2448 jean-louis.denis@umontreal.ca Lise Lamothe Département de management, Faculté des sciences de l'administration, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4 Tel: (418)-656-2131 X5960 Fax: (418)-656-2624 lise.lamothe@mng.ulaval.ca Ann Langley Département Stratégie des affaires Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 6192 Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Canada, H3C 4R2 Tel: (514)-987-3000 X4862 Fax: (514)-987-0422 langley.ann@uqam.ca June 2000 Final version
1
The authors are very grateful to the participating organizations for their collaboration in this research. They also thank research assistants Linda Cazale, Marc Prenevost, Marc Pineault, Mélodie Faucher, Mélanie Summerside, Michèle Saint-Pierre and Jean-Michel Viola for their help in data collection, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Fonds FCAR and Université Laval for their financial support. The comments of three anonymous reviewers and of special issue editor Dick Woodman were also helpful in developing the paper.
2
The Dynamics of Collective Leadership and Strategic Change in Pluralistic Organizations
Abstract This paper draws on two sets of process case studies in the health care field to examine how strategic change can be managed in pluralistic organizations where power is diffuse and objectives are divergent. It is suggested that the creation of a collective leadership group in which members play distinct but tightly-knit and complementary roles is a critical factor in achieving substantive change. However, collective leadership is fragile. We identify three types and levels of "coupling" called strategic (between members of the
The Dynamics of Collective Leadership and Strategic Change in Pluralistic Organizations1
Jean-Louis Denis Département d'administration de la santé, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6192 Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Canada H3C 3J7 Tel: (514)-343-6031 Fax: (514)-343-2448 jean-louis.denis@umontreal.ca Lise Lamothe Département de management, Faculté des sciences de l'administration, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4 Tel: (418)-656-2131 X5960 Fax: (418)-656-2624 lise.lamothe@mng.ulaval.ca Ann Langley Département Stratégie des affaires Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 6192 Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Canada, H3C 4R2 Tel: (514)-987-3000 X4862 Fax: (514)-987-0422 langley.ann@uqam.ca June 2000 Final version
1
The authors are very grateful to the participating organizations for their collaboration in this research. They also thank research assistants Linda Cazale, Marc Prenevost, Marc Pineault, Mélodie Faucher, Mélanie Summerside, Michèle Saint-Pierre and Jean-Michel Viola for their help in data collection, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Fonds FCAR and Université Laval for their financial support. The comments of three anonymous reviewers and of special issue editor Dick Woodman were also helpful in developing the paper.
2
The Dynamics of Collective Leadership and Strategic Change in Pluralistic Organizations
Abstract This paper draws on two sets of process case studies in the health care field to examine how strategic change can be managed in pluralistic organizations where power is diffuse and objectives are divergent. It is suggested that the creation of a collective leadership group in which members play distinct but tightly-knit and complementary roles is a critical factor in achieving substantive change. However, collective leadership is fragile. We identify three types and levels of "coupling" called strategic (between members of the