The Creation of an Organization Development Function in a Group of Small and Medium‐sized Companies

This paper will present the results of a research project investigating the creation of an ‘Organization Development Function’ in a group of small and medium‐sized companies. After briefly reviewing the concept of organization development, the results and practical implications of this longitudinal study will be considered. The study was carried out by members of the Ashridge Management Research Unit as part of a larger project investigating the management of change in the printing industry. Financial support for the study was provided by the Printing and Publishing Industry Training Board.