Sabotaging Market-Oriented Culture Change: An Exploration of Resistance Justifications and Approaches

This study explores and describes the rationales and the approaches employed by organizational members in order intentionally to sabotage, impede, or otherwise delay management-espoused market-oriented change programs. The objective is to develop theory through supplying grounded insights into how and why executives, managers, and employees resist attempts to improve the market focus of their company. Analysis of 174 field interviews uncovered four main rationales for resisting market-oriented change. Further, a continuum of intentional efforts to sabotage market-oriented culture change is presented and five key responses explored and described. These findings are discussed and implications for theory and practice forwarded.