Integrating top-down and bottom-up Change: Lessons learned from a longitudinal case study

While there are two commonly-applied change strategies (an "Economic - Top-down" approach and an "Organization Development - Bottom-up" approach), Beer (2001) argues that a third alternative combining both strategies is essential to address the important failure rates of change initiatives that are reported in the organizational change literature. As the ideal balance between the two may vary from case to case, this work responds to the need for more empirical research investigating fluctuations between theories over time. For this purpose, this paper describes the evolution of the change management approach in a local bank, part of an international banking group in Europe. Through the development and implementation of a new customer intimacy business strategy, the bank achieved breakthrough results on both profit and people-oriented measures. Insights from this research are important to assure the integration and alignment of both bottom-up and top-down change initiatives. Copyright, American Society for Engineering Management, 2011.