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Organizational sensemaking: emotional-semantic constructs in change management (A case study of a retail bank in India)
Purpose of the study. To examine the influence of emotional-semantic constructs on organizational sensemaking to address employee resistance to organizational change using a case study of the sales department of a retail bank in India.
Research Methodology. The research is based on a case study of changing the subculture of the sales department of the bank using the concept of meaning generation and the co-evolutionary model of organizational sensemaking to reduce employee resistance to organizational change. The ADKAR change management model was used as the project framework.
Findings of the study. The result of the study is an improved approach to managing people's resistance to organizational change. The use of emotional-semantic constructs in combination with the co-evolutionary model of organizational sensemaking and the ADKAR change management framework had a multiplicative positive effect, expressed in the acceptance and openness of employees to organizational change, the transformation of the organizational subculture supporting the changes, and the positive reaction of the local community affected by the changes.
Originality and contribution of the author. Traditionally, change management has been addressed through approaches that describe frameworks for managing change and employee resistance. The academic world has debated the influence of emotional-semantic and the importance of using the concept of sensemaking in organizational change management. The research described in this paper aims to investigate the management of organizational sensemaking through emotional-semantic concepts in order to reduce employee resistance to organizational change based on the ADKAR model.