Resist or comply: The power dynamics of organisational routines during merger

Extant routine literature mainly examines the endogenous change and stabilisation of routines and the responses of organisational routines to organisational change and the power dynamic behind those changes are less explored. Employing Bourdieu’s theory of practice, we analyse how power dynamics affect the development of organisational routines, once external change is introduced. Drawing on an in-depth qualitative case study of a merger between two academic institutions (Edinburgh College of Art and the University of Edinburgh), we argue that routines’ responses to organisational change depend on (a) the field within which the routine operates and (b) the actors’ symbolic capital and position taking during change implementation. Our findings contribute to both scholarly work in routine research and change management.