The Role of Organizational Template in Radical Change

Privatization is a strategy in which radical change is expected to occur. Few studies have been done to identify how privatization change occurs in the very early phases of organizational transformation. In an empirical study of public and private sector managers associated with a state-wide privatization effort during its first year of implementation, we find that radical change, as exemplified in the adoption of a market orientation, is affected by structural shifts in organizational template despite the number of years of previous for-profit management experience. This finding challenges current emphasis which suggests that it is the hiring of new managers with new skills in privatized concerns which help assure its success. Associated implications and proposed future research agenda are presented.