Follow TopicFollow Contributor Share Feedback
The Complex Contagion of Organizational Change

The Complex Contagion of Organizational Change

by Damon Centola

Elihu Katz Professor of Communication, Sociology and Engineering, UPenn

May 17, 2021

Compendium

What is the secret to organizational change? How do innovative technologies and new organizational cultures take hold? The answer is not what you think. Most people think that the key to change is identifying “influencers” who can advocate for an initiative. But, change is not about finding the right people. It’s about having the right contagion infrastructure.

I’m sure you have heard that behaviors are contagious, but what does that mean? Does organizational change really spread like a virus, cascading from person to person? Of course not. Anyone who has ever tried to initiate change within their organization will quickly appreciate that getting people to adopt a new management practice or business technology is not as simple as just telling them about it. Changing people’s workplace practices and their cultural norms is difficult precisely because these behaviors encounter resistance—which prevents them from spreading virally.

This content is available to paid Members of Starling Insights.

If you are a Member of Starling Insights, you can sign in below to access this item. 

 

If you are not a member, please consider joining Starling Insights to support our work and get access to our entire platform.  Enjoy hundreds of articles and related content from past editions of the Compendium, special video and print reports, as well as Starling's observations and comments on current issues in culture & conduct risk management.

Join The Discussion

See something that doesn't look quite right?

We strive to provide high quality and accurate content at all times. With that said, we realize that sometimes links break, new information becomes available, or there is something that you feel we may have missed.

If you see something that you think we should be aware of, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to drop us a note below and leave your name and contact info if you'd like to hear back from us.

Thank you for being a key part of the Starling Insights community!