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On the Receiving End

Sensemaking, Emotion, and Assessments of an Organizational Change Initiated by Others

Boston College

Denise M. Rousseau

Carnegie Mellon University

Jenny W. Rudolph

Boston University School of Public Health

Judith A. DePalma

Slippery Rock University

This study focuses on the interpretations and experiences of change recipients, those who carry out organizational interventions initiated by others. Based on the ways nurses experienced a shared governance initiative implemented in their hospital, the authors investigated change recipients’ sensemaking about organizational change through their ascribed meanings, emotional responses, and perceptions of its impacts on them. Survey data demonstrated how nurses subjectively assessed their gains and losses from the change initiative. Participation in the initiative increased the experience of gains, as did membership in a unit where change was implemented more fully. Textual analysis of open-ended responses to the survey indicated that gains were linked with interpretations of the change initiative and pleasant feelings and that there was considerable emotional contagion within work units. Such effects are particularly likely in employee empowerment initiatives as experiences are linked to interpretation and mood among change recipients.

Key Words: shared governance • sensemaking • organizational change • change recipients • emotion

The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 42, No. 2, 182-206 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0021886305285455


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