Contact Professor David Buchanan
Background
David is Emeritus Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Cranfield University School of Management, and Visiting Professor at Nottingham Business School. He works freelance as a consultant, speaker, and author, specializing in change management and organization politics. He has a Doctorate in Organizational Behaviour from Edinburgh University, was Director of Loughborough University Business School from 1992 to 1995, has held visiting posts in Australian and Canadian management schools, and has worked often in Australia and Sweden. He is author/co-author of over two dozen books, including the best-seller, Organizational Behaviour (with Andrzej Huczynski; ninth edition 2017, tenth edition 2020). He has co-authored several books on change management, including: The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change (with Louise Fitzgerald and Diane Ketley), Power, Politics and Organizational Change: Winning the Turf Game (with Richard Badham), and Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach (with Ian Palmer and Richard Dunford). He has also written numerous book chapters, papers, and articles on organizational behaviour and change, and organizational research methods.
Current activities
As Emeritus Professor, David has occasional teaching commitments at Cranfield School of Management, on the MBA and Executive DBA programmes. As a visiting professor at Nottingham Business School, he teaches on MBA, MSc and Doctoral programmes. He is also a member of the School's Healthcare Management Research Group, working on a case study of the Greater Nottingham Transformation Programme, which is a national leader in developing an Accountable Care System. Most of David's research has taken place in healthcare settings. He is currently a member of the Steering Group for a study of Healthcare Leadership with Political Astuteness (HeLPA) funded by the National Institute for Health Research, and conducted by University of Nottingham, 2017-2020. He recently completed a major study of the changing roles of middle managers in acute care settings, funded by the National Institute for Health Research. The report of that study can be found here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK259397/
One puzzle with organizational change concerns the lack of change following accidents, crises, and other extreme events. One would expect change to be rapid in such situations, to prevent further incidents. This is rarely the case, and explanations can be found in this recent publication:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14697017.2015.1120766?journalCode=rjcm20
David is currently working with a Swedish collaborator, Markus Hällgren (Umeå University), exploring the use of feature films to study and also to teach crisis and extreme context leadership:
http://extremecontexts.com/episodes/episode-19-professor-david-buchanan-using-zombie-movies-research/
David's most recent book, Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research, co-edited with Alan Bryman, was published by Oxford University Press in March 2018.
Clients
David has over thirty years' experience on management development and consulting assignments for clients in Britain and overseas, including United Distillers, Digital Equipment, Polaroid, Leicester Royal Infirmary, HM Prison Service, Chelmsford Borough Council, Leicester Mercury, The Children's Society, Northampton Hospital, Provide Healthcare, Volvo Car Corporation, Alfa Laval, SKF, and in Australia Faulding Chemicals, the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment in Darwin, Australia Post, Motorola, The South Australian Justice Portfolio, and the State Government departments DECS and DAIS. Assignments have included change planning and implementation workshops, employee surveys, organization audits, management briefings and conferences, and the design of management development programmes in change implementation and organization politics. He also works regularly with Chalmers Professional Education, in Gothenburg, Sweden, running management workshops on the constructive use of organization politics.
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Hällgren M & Buchanan DA. (2024). Extreme fiction for leadership development. Management Learning
- Hällgren M & Buchanan DA. (2024). Leadership in a continuous crisis. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 32(4)
- Hällgren M & Buchanan DA. (2020). The Dark Side of Group Behavior: Zombie Apocalypse Lessons. Academy of Management Perspectives, 34(4)
- Buchanan DA & Hällgren M. (2019). Surviving a zombie apocalypse: Leadership configurations in extreme contexts. Management Learning, 50(2)
- Buchanan DA & Moore C. (2016). Never say never again: post-incident change and the investigation trap. Journal of Change Management, 16(3)
- Buchanan D, Denyer D & Moore C. (2015). "'She nearly escaped, but we got her in the end': The Wrong Path to Improving Patient Safety". Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015(1)
- Gascoigne C, Parry E & Buchanan D. (2015). Extreme work, gendered work? How extreme jobs and the discourse of ‘personal choice’ perpetuate gender inequality. Organization, 22(4)
- Buchanan D. (2015). Cancer advice. Economist (United Kingdom), 411(8921)
- Buchanan DA & Denyer D. (2013). Researching Tomorrow's Crisis: Methodological Innovations and Wider Implications. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(2)
- A. Buchanan D, Parry E, Gascoigne C & Moore C. (2013). Are healthcare middle management jobs extreme jobs?. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 27(5)
- Buchanan D. (2013). Pure plays and hybrids: Acute trust management profile and capacity. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 18(2)
- McDermott AM, Fitzgerald L & Buchanan DA. (2013). Beyond Acceptance and Resistance: Entrepreneurial Change Agency Responses in Policy Implementation. British Journal of Management, 24(S1)
- Fitzgerald L, Ferlie E, McGivern G & Buchanan D. (2013). Distributed leadership patterns and service improvement: Evidence and argument from English healthcare. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(1)
- Moore C & Buchanan DA. (2013). Sweat the small stuff: A case study of small-scale change processes and consequences in acute care. Health Services Management Research, 26(1)
- Buchanan DA. (2011). Reflections: Good Practice, Not Rocket Science – Understanding Failures to Change After Extreme Events. Journal of Change Management, 11(3)
- Buchanan DA & Storey J. (2010). Don't stop the clock: manipulating hospital waiting lists. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 24(4)
- Buchanan D. (2008). You stab my back, I'll stab yours: Management experience and perceptions of organization political behaviour. British Journal of Management, 19(1)
- Storey J & Buchanan D. (2008). Healthcare governance and organizational barriers to learning from mistakes. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 22(6)
- Buchanan DA, Addicott R, Fitzgerald L, Ferlie E & Baeza JI. (2007). Nobody in charge: Distributed change agency in healthcare. Human Relations, 60(7)
- Buchanan DA & Bryman A. (2007). Contextualizing Methods Choice in Organizational Research. Organizational Research Methods, 10(3)
- Buchanan D & Dawson P. (2007). Discourse and Audience: Organizational Change as Multi‐Story Process. Journal of Management Studies, 44(5)
- Buchanan D, Caldwell R, Meyer J, Storey J & Wainwright C. (2007). Leadership transmission: a muddled metaphor?. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 21(3)
- Fitzgerald L, Ferlie E, Addicott R, Baeza J, Buchanan D, .... (2007). Service improvement in healthcare: Understanding change capacity and change context. Clinician in Management, 15(2)
- Gollop R, Ketley D, Buchanan D, Whitby E, Lamont S, .... (2006). ‘Research into Practice’: a model for healthcare management research?. Evidence & Policy, 2(2)
- Buchanan D, Fitzgerald L, Ketley D, Gollop R, Jones JL, .... (2005). No going back: A review of the literature on sustaining organizational change. International Journal of Management Reviews, 7(3)
- Dawson P & Buchanan D. (2005). The way it really happened: Competing narratives in the political process of technological change. Human Relations, 58(7)
- Buchanan D, Abbott S, Bentley J, Lanceley A & Meyer J. (2005). Let's be PALS: User‐Driven Organizational Change in Healthcare*. British Journal of Management, 16(4)
- Buchanan D & Huczynski A. (2004). Images of Influence. Journal of Management Inquiry, 13(4)
- Huczynski A & Buchanan D. (2004). Theory from Fiction: A Narrative Process Perspective on the Pedagogical Use of Feature Film. Journal of Management Education, 28(6)
- Gollop R. (2004). Influencing sceptical staff to become supporters of service improvement: a qualitative study of doctors' and managers' views. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 13(2)
- Buchanan DA. (2003). Demands, Instabilities, Manipulations, Careers: The Lived Experience of Driving Change. Human Relations, 56(6)
- Buchanan DA. (2001). The Role of Photography in Organization Research. Journal of Management Inquiry, 10(2)
- Doyle M, Claydon T & Buchanan D. (2000). Mixed Results, Lousy Process: the Management Experience of Organizational Change. British Journal of Management, 11(s1)
- Buchanan D & Badham R. (1999). Politics and Organizational Change: The Lived Experience. Human Relations, 52(5)
- Buchanan D & Badham R. (1999). Politics and Organizational Change: The Lived Experience. Human Relations, 52(5)
- Buchanan DA. (1999). The Logic of Political Action: an Experiment with the Epistemology of the Particular. British Journal of Management, 10(s1)
- Buchanan D. (1999). Ways Ahead for Organisations: Disappointing Guidebooks. Work, Employment and Society, 13(2)
- Buchanan D. (1998). Representing process: the contribution of a re‐engineering frame. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 18(12)
- Buchanan DA. (1998). The Logic of Political Action: An Experiment with the Epistemology of the Particular. British Journal of Management, 9(3 SPEC. ISS.)
- Smith A, Preston D, Buchanan D & Jordan S. (1997). When Two Worlds Collide. Evaluation, 3(1)
- Buchanan D. (1997). Patrick Dawson (1996) Technology and Quality: Change in the WorkplaceLondon: International Thomson Business Press ISBN 0-415-12302-X $29.95. Journal of Management & Organization, 3(1)
- Buchananl DA. (1997). The Limitations and Opportunities of Business Process Re-engineering in a Politicized Organizational Climate. Human Relations, 50(1)
- Preston D, Smith A, Buchanan D & Jordan S. (1996). Symbols of the NHS. Management Learning, 27(3)
- Buchanan D. (1995). Desanitizing Organizational Behaviour. Organization, 2(1)
- Buchanan DA. (1993). RECRUITMENT MODE AS A FACTOR AFFECTING INFORMANT RESPONSE IN ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH*. Journal of Management Studies, 30(2)
- Buchanan D & Preston D. (1992). LIFE IN THE CELL: SUPERVISION AND TEAMWORK IN A ‘MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS ENGINEERING’ ENVIRONMENT. Human Resource Management Journal, 2(4)
- Buchanan DA. (1991). Vulnerability and Agenda: Context and Process in Project Management. British Journal of Management, 2(3)
- Wilson FM & Buchanan DA. (1988). The Effect of New Technology in the Engineering Industry: Cases of Control and Constraint. Work, Employment and Society, 2(3)
- Buchanan DA & McCalman J. (1988). Confidence, visibility and pressure: the effects of shared information in computer aided hotel management. New Technology, Work and Employment, 3(1)
- Buchanan D & Huczynski A. (1986). B‐CAP: A New Approach to Interpersonal Skills Development. Journal of European Industrial Training, 10(8)
- Buchanan DA & Bessant J. (1985). FAILURE, UNCERTAINTY AND CONTROL: THE ROLE OF OPERATORS IN A COMPUTER INTEGRATED PRODUCTION SYSTEM. Journal of Management Studies, 22(3)
- Buchanan DA & Boddy D. (1985). Skills, motivation and interdependencies: The effective use of new computing technology. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 6(3-4)
- Buchanan DA & Boddy D. (1985). Skills, Motivation and Interdependencies:. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 6(3-4)
- Boddy D & Buchanan D. (1984). Implications For Development Of New Technology. Management Education and Development, 15(2)
- Boddy D & Buchanan DA. (1984). Information technology and productivity: Myths and realities. Omega, 12(3)
- BUCHANAN DA & BODDY D. (1983). Advanced technology and the quality of working life: The effects of computerized controls on biscuit‐making operators. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 56(2)
- BUCHANAN DA & BODDY D. (1982). Advanced technology and the quality of working life: The effects of word processing on video typists. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 55(1)
- Huczynski A & Buchanan DA. (1982). 'Meadium'. Management Education and Development, 13(3)
- Buchanan DA & Boddy D. (1982). Working with information technology. Management Research News, 5(1)
- Buchanan DA. (1982). Using the new technology: Management objectives and organizational choices. European Management Journal, 1(2)
- Buchanan DA, Denyer D, Jaina J, Kelliher C, Moore C, .... How do they manage? A qualitative study of the realities of middle and front-line management work in health care. Health Services and Delivery Research, 1(4)
Conference Papers
Books
- Buchanan DA & Jordan S. (2024). Job quality: Looking after the people who look after the people In Research Handbook on Contemporary Human Resource Management for Health Care.
- Palmer I, Dunford R & Buchanan DA. (2021). Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach (4th ed.)
- Buchanan DA. (2021). Nobody in charge: really? In Curtis EA, Beirne M, Cullen JG, Northway R & Corrigan S (eds), Distributed Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare: Theory, Evidence and Development. Open University Press/McGraw-Hill Education.
- Buchanan DA & Denyer D. (2018). Research in extreme contexts In Bryman A & Buchanan DA (eds), Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research. Oxford University Press.
- Buchanan DA & Mccalman J. (2018). High Performance Work Systems
- Buchanan DA. (2018). Methodology matters In Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research. Oxford University Press.
- Bryman A & Buchanan DA. Bryman A & Buchanan DA (eds). (2018). Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research
- Buchanan DA & Bryman A. (2018). ‘Not another survey’ In Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research. Oxford University Press.
- Buchanan DA. (2016). But does it count as evidence? In Organisation und Methode. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.
- Buchanan DA. (2016). Rats in the shadows: Researching organizational politics In Handbook of Organizational Politics: Second Edition: Looking Back and to the Future.
- Buchanan DA. (2016). I couldn’t disagree more eight things about organizational change that we know for sure but which are probably wrong In Perspectives on Change: What Academics, Consultants and Managers Really Think about Change.
- Fitzgerald L, Ferlie E, McGivern G & Buchanan D. (2013). Respond and deliver?: change leadership in complex organizations In Leadership in the Public Sector. Routledge.
- Buchanan D, Boddy D & Mccalman J. (2013). Getting in, getting on, getting out, and getting back In Doing Research in Organizations (RLE: Organizations).
- Fitzgerald L, Ferlie E, McGivern G & Buchanan D. (2013). Leadership in the Public Sector In Teelken C, Ferlie E & Dent M (eds), Leadership in the Public Sector: Promises and Pitfalls. Routledge.
- Pilbeam CJ & Buchanan DA. (2012). A Very Unpleasant Disease: Successful Post-Crisis Management in a Hospital Setting In Dickinson H & Mannion R (eds), The Reform of Health Care. Palgrave Macmillan UK.
- Buchanan D & Badham R. (2008). Power, Politics, and Organizational Change: Winning the Turf Game
- Buchanan DA. (2008). Managing strategic change In The Routledge Companion to Strategic Human Resource Management. Routledge.
- Whitby E, Gollop R & Buchanan DA. (2006). Researching major change: issues and dilemmas In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change. Routledge.
- Buchanan DA, Fitzgerald L & Ketley D. (2006). Sustaining change and avoiding containment: practice and policy In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change. Routledge.
- Buchanan DA & Fitzgerald L. (2006). Improvement evaporation: why do successful changes decay? In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change. Routledge.
- Buchanan DA & Fitzgerald L. (2006). The best practices puzzle: why are new methods contained and not spread? In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change. Routledge.
- Fitzgerald L & Buchanan DA. (2006). The sustainability and spread story: theoretical developments In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change. Routledge.
- Buchanan DA, Fitzgerald L & Ketley D. Buchanan DA, Fitzgerald L & Ketley D (eds). (2006). The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change
- Buchanan DA & Fitzgerald L. (2006). Improvement evaporation: Why do successful changes decay? In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change: Modernizing Healthcare.
- Fitzgerald L & Buchanan DA. (2006). The sustainability and spread story: Theoretical developments In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change: Modernizing Healthcare.
- Whitby E, Gollop R & Buchanan DA. (2006). Researching major change: Issues and dilemmas In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change: Modernizing Healthcare.
- Buchanan DA & Fitzgerald L. (2006). The best practices puzzle: Why are new methods contained and not spread? In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change: Modernizing Healthcare.
- Buchanan DA, Fitzgerald L & Ketley D. (2006). Sustaining change and avoiding containment: Practice and policy In The Sustainability and Spread of Organizational Change: Modernizing Healthcare.
- Badham R, McLoughlin IP & Buchanan DA. (1998). Human Resource Management and Cellular Manufacturing In Group Technology and Cellular Manufacturing. Springer US.