A Lexicon For Organizational Change: Examining The Use Of Language In Popular, Practitioner, And Scholar Periodicals

Abstract

This study presents an examination of the ambiguity surrounding the language of organizational change. The purpose is to unearth patterns in how language is used to describe major organizational change. A sample of 15 journals that spanned 15 years (2,168 issues) were examined from three categories. The results provided 14 different relevant terms for organizational change. The most emphasized term is organizational transformation. The article also conducts a within domain examination that sheds light on the gap between practice and research. Labels and definitions are proposed. Directions and prescriptions for the future are also discussed.