Changing academic work places: the introduction of open-plan offices in universities

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between the spatial intervention of open-plan offices in a university, the consequential change in work practices of faculty members and how these practices appropriate the designed space.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors executed a two-year longitudinal ethnographic study following the case of the science faculty, which moved from a traditional office setting to open-plan offices. The authors studied the space and interviewed staff before, during and after the introduction of open-plan offices.

Findings

Findings show that the new spatial setting triggered staff members to attribute certain meanings and practices of adaptation which were, partly, unintended by the design of the open-plan offices.

Research limitations/implications

This paper contributes empirically grounded insights into the (un)intended consequences of a spatial intervention in terms of how staff members, far from being passive, attribute meaning and alter their work practices leading to unprecedented organizational changes.

Practical implications

For change consultants, facility managers and university managers the outcomes of this paper are highly relevant.

Social implications

Large budgets are spent on new office concepts at universities but the authors do know little about the relation between spatial (re)design and organizational change.

Originality/value

The introduction of new office concepts, spatial redesign and co-location is for many academics highly emotional.

Citation

Van Marrewijk, A. and Van den Ende, L. (2018), "Changing academic work places: the introduction of open-plan offices in universities", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 1119-1137. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-02-2017-0039