Making sense of organizational change: Exploring different storytelling modes in the shift toward omnichannel retailing

In addition to technological transformations, the increasing and pervasive digitalization of society requires firms to embark on major organizational change. Retailers are particularly concerned about this issue, as their survival depends heavily on their ability to become omnichannel. Therefore, this research investigates how middle managers make sense of organizational change in the shift toward omnichannel. In a multiple case study of five retailers undergoing this shift, we analyze the storytelling modes emerging from both individual interviews with middle managers and strategic internal documentation to better understand how they make sense of the change. Of the four modes (i.e., epic, romantic, tragic, and tragi-romantic) identified, epic storytelling is particularly predominant in effecting this change. The findings also reveal that managers’ sensemaking is shaped by the use of the recent and distant past. Retailers need to reflect on their storytelling practices to grasp how their managers make sense of the change. An improved understanding of how managers – as primary storytellers – interpret the change is critical to ensure successful transformation across the whole organization.