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Radical Change Accidentally: The Emergence and Amplification of Small Change
Authors:
Donde Ashmos Plowman, LaKami T. Baker, Tammy Elizabeth Beck, Mukta Kulkarni, Stephanie Thomas Solansky, Deandra Travis
Abstract:
We examine emergent change from a qualitative study of how a church’s decision to offer breakfast to homeless people led to unintended, radical change that altered the church and its environment. Existing theories of change do not fully explain the type of change we observed; however, four constructs from complexity theory helped generate a theoretical explanation for how and why the radical change emerged. We offer four key findings. First, radical change was unintended and emergent, happening more slowly than often thought. Second, contextual conditions destabilized the system such that small changes could easily emerge and become radical. Third, subsequent actions amplified an initial small change and unintentionally pushed the organization towards radical change. Finally, the dynamic interaction of amplifying actions, contextual conditions and small changes led to continuous, radical change.
Friday, July 30, 2010
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