A Multilevel Model Combining Sensemaking and Improvisation Theories for IT and Organizational Change

Using information technology (IT) to bring about organizational change brings together the challenges of improvisation and sensemaking. One approach to managing improvisation is technological-use mediation (TUM), which involves a group of institutionally sanctioned individuals who are responsible for adjusting the technology for the needs of the users as well as setting up rules of use for the technology. One approach for understanding the sensemaking of organizational members is the technology frames of reference (TFR) model, which takes into account the knowledge and understanding of people in an organization about a particular technology. Because both the TUM and TFR models represent incomplete views of an organization, this paper proposes a new model that merges the four stages of TUM and the technology frames of reference (TFR) of the groups in an organization across organizational levels to present a more comprehensive view of the process of IT-enabled organizational change.