Les liens entre les caractéristiques et le succès des changements organisationnels : le cas d'une start-up

The paradoxical nature of the work of middle managers in the context of constant changeThe objective is to investigate the links between the change characteristics and the change success, in an entrepreneurial context. Relationships within change characteristics are also examined. In order to proceed with an exploratory and quantitative study, data are collected about 51 organizational changes which have occurred in a French new venture, between 1997 and 2011. Descriptive statistics indicate that the frequency of changes has generally increased, even though their duration has decreased. Pearson chi-square tests show that while the change origin is correlated to change process, decision and scope, the change scope is correlated to change scale. Change scope and change scale are both correlated to change success. Eventually, significant relationships can be identified between change duration and other characteristics (change process, origin and scope). The data set and the research design present some limitations, notably regarding the categorical nature of the variables. The paper shows that in an entrepreneurial context, the links between the change characteristics and change success deserve further academic attention. Through the study of a successful case, entrepreneurs and practitioners can get useful insights on how to apprehend change characteristics.