Theoretical and Practical Considerations on the Relevance and Usefulness of Emotions in the Context of Dynamic Change Management

Emotions are omnipresent—in our private and professional lives—and yet many people do not treat them with the necessary mindfulness. In change management, many situations are emotionally charged—in both a negative and positive sense. This makes it highly relevant to deal with the topic of emotions and to consider how emotions can be understood in organizations. The starting point for this is a brief overview of the state of emotion research and the view of emotions from other social science perspectives such as sociology, historical research, and philosophy. The aim is to illustrate how emotions can arise and how not only biology, but to a large extent, other factors such as the socialization of people are involved. Central aspects of this process, including the importance of language as a bridge between cognition and emotion and the social function of emotion, are discussed in detail so that the relevance of emotion in dynamic change management can be worked out as an important contextual factor.