Towards a social capital theory of resistance to change

Purpose - The aim of the paper is to generate a substantive grounded theory of organizational change and leadership, particularly focusing on the manifestation and management of resistance to change, or what has been more broadly conceptualized as organization inertia.Design methodology approach - A grounded theory study, investigating a particular type of change occurring in a variety of South African churches, was conducted using a Straussian approach. A sample of incidents was gathered from 38 in-depth interviews conducted with ministers who were leading churches of various backgrounds, sizes, and denominations, in four South African provinces.Findings - When analysing the process of church transition from a programme-based to a cell-based design, the concept "sense of community" was developed. This concept underscored the manifestation of organization inertia in the churches that were engaged in a process of change.Research limitations implications - Further exploration of the literature suggests that - compared to other theories of resistance to change - the theory of social capital offers a better explanation of the occurrence of organization inertia in this study.Originality value - In the light of this paper's discovery, social capital theory is proposed as a new theoretical explanation of resistance to change.