Organizational Change and Temporal Myopia

Abstract

Managers are required to eliminate resistance for making organizational changes. Previous studies have suggested that managers with sufficient power should be aware of the need for an organizational change and promote such changes. However, these factors alone are inadequate. This study presents a comparative case study of an organizational change effected by two dealership managers with identical levels of power at the Japanese auto dealer company X. Results revealed that the dealership manager who succeeded at an organizational change took a long-term perspective and was process oriented. In contrast, when the manager focused on short-term results, the dealership fell into temporal myopia and failed at an organizational change. Myopia is not always a problem, but it impedes an organizational change in sales organizations where results are easily quantifiable and feedback is rapid.

Keywords

• organizational change
• temporal myopia
• sales organization