Resistance to Sustainability Change in Organisations and Strategies to Overcome It

Organisational changes that threaten the status quo, such as moving away from unsustainable practices towards more sustainable ones, are bound to face resistance at the individual, group, and organisation levels. Resistance to change is a common phenomenon to planned changes, which slows and sometimes stops change efforts. It arises when passing from the known to the unknown and slows or stops movement. A myriad of barriers to change that affect the different organisational levels. Most of the literature has focused on individual or organisational barriers, while few authors have focused on groups. The barriers to change can be analysed with the help of the Multi-dimensional Sustainability Influence Change (MuSIC) memework. Examples from four case studies are presented. Resistance to change is most easily overcome when it can be foreseen and neutralised in advance. Several strategies can be used to overcome the barriers at the different organisational levels. Sometimes the strategies may be used independently, other times combined. Overcoming barriers to change is both radical and incremental. Examples from three case studies are presented. There is, in general, incongruity between the barriers to change and the strategies being applied to overcome them.