Plant Relocation: An Integration of Survey Findings and a Conceptual Analysis

Plant relocation (PR) is a major organisational change, ostensibly focused only upon geographical transfer, but in fact having broad‐spectrum accompanying effects. A conceptual analysis of PR is presented, supplemented by data from 35 interviews with managers and union leaders of organisations having recently relocated. PR is viewed as a catalytic process of turbulent change, radiating upon organisational structures, social processes, and external environmental systems. The uncertainty and turbulence created by PR are shown to affect management‐worker relations, as well as the interrelationships among employees and the distribution of power within the organisation. The potentials of PR as an opportunity for organisational growth and revitalisation on the one hand, and as a period of crisis and turmoil, on the other, are presented. Some general guidelines are proposed for the effective planning and management of relocation.