Framing change as continuous lets organizations adopt new technology without rupturing identity

Evidence

Handelsbanken solved the tricky situation by using the historically established strategy with the decentralized approach as a template for its internet banking strategy. The approach to internet banking had to be chosen from the perspective of the branch-based bank, meaning that the branches needed to retain control of their customer relationships and the business associated with each customer. To customers it needed to be clear that the internet was just an additional access point to their local branch. It was their branch they visited on the web – not a separate internet branch or a central unit of the bank. Hence, the decentralized branch-based strategy that was crucial to Handelsbanken’s identity remained stable. The aspects that changed were not critical from an identity point of view although the introduction of a new technology represented a significant change in practice. By using the old strategy as a template, Handelsbanken made the new strategy appear as the continuous follower of the old one. There was no rupture between the branch-based internet approach and the historically grown concept of branch-based banking. — Georg Schreyögg and Jörg Sydow, The Hidden Dynamics of Path Dependence, 519

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the ‘Grafting & Growth’ article’s central metaphor — grafting a new practice onto old rootstock keeps the tree’s identity while extending reach.
• SEED: Essay angle: ‘How to Change Everything Without Anyone Noticing’ — institutional design that routes novelty through existing identity templates.