{"id":8017816,"date":"2015-08-07T12:19:44","date_gmt":"2015-08-07T19:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test-agilealliance.pantheonsite.io\/?post_type=aa_research_paper&#038;p=8017816"},"modified":"2023-08-19T14:33:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T21:33:32","slug":"symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations","status":"publish","type":"aa_research_paper","link":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/","title":{"rendered":"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing research does not adequately address the importance of language in distinguishing the current plan-driven processes from their agile counterparts. The labels in agile and plan-driven processes represent practices that are well established. Accurate process labeling is the foundation for creating any inter-organizational lessons. This paper establishes the link between linguistic manipulation and how it might lead to a form of symbolic innovation that can impede a greater understanding of transformational challenges. During an agile transformation, some organizational actors re-label deterministic plan-driven processes using agile language. The symbolic innovation leads to no improvement and is more easily abandoned without meaningful process change.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Doug Rose<\/strong><br>Syracuse University<br>School of Information Studies<br>Syracuse, USA<br>dbrose@syr.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6000331,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"tags":[],"content_source":[186],"class_list":["post-8017816","aa_research_paper","type-aa_research_paper","status-publish","hentry","content_source-agile2015"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.10 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing research does not adequately address the importance of language in distinguishing the current plan-driven processes from their agile counterparts. The labels in agile and plan-driven\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Agile Alliance\"\/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.9.10\" \/>\n\n\t\t<!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=UA-17319182-1\"><\/script>\n<script>\n window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];\n function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}\n gtag('js', new Date());\n\n gtag('config', 'UA-17319182-1');\n<\/script>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Agile Alliance | Promoting a more effective, humane, and sustainable way of working\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations | Agile Alliance\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing research does not adequately address the importance of language in distinguishing the current plan-driven processes from their agile counterparts. The labels in agile and plan-driven\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aafix23.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/agile-logo-new-1200x28-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:secure_url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aafix23.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/agile-logo-new-1200x28-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-07T19:19:44+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-19T21:33:32+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/agileallianceofficial\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AgileAlliance\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations | Agile Alliance\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing research does not adequately address the importance of language in distinguishing the current plan-driven processes from their agile counterparts. The labels in agile and plan-driven\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aafix23.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/agile-logo-new-1200x28-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"aioseo-schema\">\n\t\t\t{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/resources\\\/research-papers\\\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\\\/#breadcrumblist\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org#listItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/sources\\\/agile2015\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Agile2015\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/sources\\\/agile2015\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Agile2015\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/sources\\\/agile2015\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/resources\\\/research-papers\\\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org#listItem\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/resources\\\/research-papers\\\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations\",\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/sources\\\/agile2015\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Agile2015\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Agile Alliance\",\"description\":\"Promoting a more effective, humane, and sustainable way of working\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/pmi-aa-logo-temp.png\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/resources\\\/research-papers\\\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\\\/#organizationLogo\",\"width\":798,\"height\":252,\"caption\":\"NOT FINAL\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/resources\\\/research-papers\\\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\\\/#organizationLogo\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/agileallianceofficial\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/agilealliance\\\/_created\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/4860067\\\/admin\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/author\\\/6000331#author\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/author\\\/6000331\",\"name\":\"Agile Alliance\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/resources\\\/research-papers\\\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\\\/#authorImage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6bcf4ab09b16c1463bc4f72064fcfc0d9c53fa76d9b63c193eb30cf55bd5c021?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"width\":96,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"Agile Alliance\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/resources\\\/research-papers\\\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\\\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/resources\\\/research-papers\\\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\\\/\",\"name\":\"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations | Agile Alliance\",\"description\":\"Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing research does not adequately address the importance of language in distinguishing the current plan-driven processes from their agile counterparts. The labels in agile and plan-driven\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/resources\\\/research-papers\\\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\\\/#breadcrumblist\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/author\\\/6000331#author\"},\"creator\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/author\\\/6000331#author\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-07T12:19:44-07:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-19T14:33:32-07:00\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Agile Alliance\",\"description\":\"Promoting a more effective, humane, and sustainable way of working\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agilealliance.org\\\/#organization\"}}]}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO -->\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations | Agile Alliance","description":"Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing research does not adequately address the importance of language in distinguishing the current plan-driven processes from their agile counterparts. The labels in agile and plan-driven","canonical_url":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":"&lt;!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics --&gt;\n&lt;script async src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=UA-17319182-1\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;\n&lt;script&gt;\n&nbsp;window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];\n&nbsp;function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}\n&nbsp;gtag('js', new Date());\n\n&nbsp;gtag('config', 'UA-17319182-1');\n&lt;\/script&gt;"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org#listItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/sources\/agile2015\/#listItem","name":"Agile2015"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/sources\/agile2015\/#listItem","position":2,"name":"Agile2015","item":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/sources\/agile2015\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/#listItem","name":"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations"},"previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org#listItem","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/#listItem","position":3,"name":"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations","previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/sources\/agile2015\/#listItem","name":"Agile2015"}}]},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/#organization","name":"Agile Alliance","description":"Promoting a more effective, humane, and sustainable way of working","url":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/pmi-aa-logo-temp.png","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/#organizationLogo","width":798,"height":252,"caption":"NOT FINAL"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/#organizationLogo"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/agileallianceofficial\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/agilealliance\/_created\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/4860067\/admin\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/author\/6000331#author","url":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/author\/6000331","name":"Agile Alliance","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/#authorImage","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6bcf4ab09b16c1463bc4f72064fcfc0d9c53fa76d9b63c193eb30cf55bd5c021?s=96&d=mm&r=g","width":96,"height":96,"caption":"Agile Alliance"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/","name":"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations | Agile Alliance","description":"Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing research does not adequately address the importance of language in distinguishing the current plan-driven processes from their agile counterparts. The labels in agile and plan-driven","inLanguage":"en-US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/#breadcrumblist"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/author\/6000331#author"},"creator":{"@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/author\/6000331#author"},"datePublished":"2015-08-07T12:19:44-07:00","dateModified":"2023-08-19T14:33:32-07:00"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/","name":"Agile Alliance","description":"Promoting a more effective, humane, and sustainable way of working","inLanguage":"en-US","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/#organization"}}]},"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"Agile Alliance | Promoting a more effective, humane, and sustainable way of working","og:type":"article","og:title":"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations | Agile Alliance","og:description":"Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing research does not adequately address the importance of language in distinguishing the current plan-driven processes from their agile counterparts. The labels in agile and plan-driven","og:url":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/","og:image":"https:\/\/www.aafix23.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/agile-logo-new-1200x28-1.jpg","og:image:secure_url":"https:\/\/www.aafix23.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/agile-logo-new-1200x28-1.jpg","article:published_time":"2015-08-07T19:19:44+00:00","article:modified_time":"2023-08-19T21:33:32+00:00","article:publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/agileallianceofficial\/","twitter:card":"summary_large_image","twitter:site":"@AgileAlliance","twitter:title":"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations | Agile Alliance","twitter:description":"Much of the empirical research on agile transformations concentrates on the success factors for effective change management. Although these factors are essential in establishing beneficial norms and practices, the existing research does not adequately address the importance of language in distinguishing the current plan-driven processes from their agile counterparts. The labels in agile and plan-driven","twitter:image":"https:\/\/www.aafix23.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/agile-logo-new-1200x28-1.jpg"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"8017816","title":null,"description":null,"keywords":[],"keyphrases":{"focus":{"keyphrase":"","score":0,"analysis":{"keyphraseInTitle":{"score":0,"maxScore":9,"error":1}}},"additional":[]},"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"default","og_image_type":"default","og_image_url":null,"og_image_width":null,"og_image_height":null,"og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":"","og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":[],"twitter_use_og":true,"twitter_card":"default","twitter_image_type":"default","twitter_image_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"WebPage","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[]},"schema_type":null,"schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":"-1","robots_max_videopreview":"-1","robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":"default","local_seo":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"ai":null,"created":"2021-02-02 20:36:02","updated":"2025-06-23 10:46:23","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/sources\/agile2015\/\" title=\"Agile2015\">Agile2015<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tSymbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org"},{"label":"Agile2015","link":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/sources\/agile2015\/"},{"label":"Symbolic Innovation in Agile Transformations","link":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/resources\/research-papers\/symbolic-innovation-in-agile-transformations\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/aa_research_paper\/8017816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/aa_research_paper"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/aa_research_paper"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6000331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8017816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/aa_research_paper\/8017816\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8017816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8017816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8017816"},{"taxonomy":"content_source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_source?post=8017816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}