Revolutionizing Bureaucracies: Managing Change in Hungarian State‐owned Enterprises

Analyses two Hungarian state‐owned companies seeking to reorient themselves as their national economy changes from state‐socialist to market‐driven. These companies were selected from a larger longitudinal study because they reflected one Hungarian‐directed successful implementation of revolutionary change and one previously unsuccessful adaptation. Analyses their change processes using Tushman and Romanelli′s description of the process of frame‐breaking change in Western corporations and Gersick′s theory of change in small groups. Finds that the successful Hungarian organization shared characteristics of Western management succession and a dedicated visionary cadre of top managers with daily active involvement in implementation. However, these managers have not had to direct substantial attention to overcoming resistance within the organization to change, since most managers and employees passively accepted the vision of the cadre.