| Organizations face constant change in their efforts to respond to customer needs, competitive threats and regulation. In the case of organizations whose products and services are imbedded in information systems, frequent releases and rollouts have become the norm. The difficulty associated with these activities is exacerbated in multi-unit enterprises organized around geographic or product differences. To date, the research on organizational change, diffusion of innovation and implementation has focused almost exclusively on single change episodes, rather than multiple changes across many units. This research develops an evolutionary theory of change that employs the precepts of punctuated equilibrium and system thinking to develop a model that explores the cumulative impact of continual system changes on organizational performance and on the ease with which future changes can be made.; The model provides insight into the dynamics of continual change. It shows how choices made during the initial implementation and continual evolution of a system can restrict future change. It highlights why change becomes increasingly difficult over time, why fresh starts do not fix problems forever, why there is an endless struggle between technical and business demands, and why the debate about the relative merits of centralization and decentralization will never be resolved. Punctuated equilibrium explains the development of deep structures and potential patterns of change, both planned and unplanned, and system thinking demonstrates oscillation in performance calling for different methods of resolution at different times.; The research was conducted using a combination of historical and traditional case study methods. Historical methods extend the duration of the timeline researched, while multiple embedded case study design offers the structure to organize data collection across multiple units in organizations. Primary and secondary data, artifacts and interviews are offered as the primary means for data collection. The contributions, benefits and limitations of this research are also discussed. |
