Content area
Abstract
By definition, business process redesign (BPR) represents radical change in today's bureaucratic functionally structured and managed organizations. The radical change theorists predict that to accomplish radical change requires the use of revolutionary change tactics. It is proposed that as the radicalness of the planned change increases, more revolutionary change tactics are used. The change tactics of 3 organizations' BPR initiatives are analyzed to understand whether and how revolutionary tactics were used. The initiatives evinced a varied amount of revolutionary tactics depending on the scope and depth of planned change. The use of revolutionary tactics also varied by the phase of the initiatives. The frequency of revolutionary tactics was highest in the early phases of the initiatives and decreased as they approached implementation. The reasons for reduced deployment of revolutionary tactics are explored. Implications to BPR practice and research are discussed.