Studies of radical change pay more attention to early phases of the change processes than to later phases and implementation. Research that can contribute to a deeper understanding of factors that influence the implementation of such changes is therefore called for. The purpose of this chapter is to increase the insight and understanding of how trust and psychological safety impact implementation of radical changes. To meet this purpose, we raise the following research questions: 1) What are the differences and similarities between the concepts of trust and psychological safety? 2) How does trust and psychological safety influence implementation of radical changes in organizations? To answer the first question, we start by conducting a review of the literature on trust and psychological safety in part one. Although both concepts are widely used, the observable level of precision and understanding of the concepts varies. Our review reveals that the concepts are popular and quite closely related, yet there are also important differences worth noticing. To answer the second research question, we apply the insight from part one to discuss a conceptual case, well-known to many organizations in current business life; the implementation of radical new service technology. The discussion reveals that both trust and psychological safety play important, but somewhat different roles in top-down and bottom-up organized radical and adaptive change processes respectively.
Hvordan påvirker tillit og psykologisk trygghet implementering av radikale endringer? En casestudie av digital tjenesteteknologi
