Organizational change: A categorization scheme and response model with readiness factors

A new categorization scheme for the organizational change literature is proposed to foster theory development in the field. The scheme classifies the field into four main areas of organizational change research — type, readiness, process and inertia — and elevates time to the forefront of research. Building off the categorization scheme, the Organizational Change Response Model is presented, which links the type and readiness literatures. To provide grounding to the assertions made and to develop a new working definition of organizational change, the study of change in the fields of biology, social psychology, environmental science and physics are briefly reviewed. Learnings from the other disciplines are incorporated in the model, and implications for future theory building and research in organizational development and change are presented.