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ADAPTIVE AND MALADAPTIVE RESPONSES OF MANAGERS TO CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS: A STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SECTOR SENIOR EXECUTIVES
Author(s) -
MATTHEWS JUDY,
RYAN NEAL,
WILLIAMS TREVOR
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.313
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-9299
pISSN - 0033-3298
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01866.x
Subject(s) - public sector , adaptation (eye) , government (linguistics) , business , public relations , psychology , political science , law , linguistics , philosophy , neuroscience
This paper examines data collected from senior executives in two Australian government agencies to identify patterns of adaptive and maladaptive responses to change in public sector environments. The conceptual categories of passive maladaptive, active maladaptive and active adaptive responses are all supported by the interview data, with half of the executives expressing predominantly active adaptive responses to external change and uncertainty and half displaying various kinds of passive and active maladaptive responses. The implications of the findings for managers as agents of organizational learning and adaptation in public sector environments are discussed.