The construct of change strategy (CS) dates back several decades; however, its use remains
vague, equivocal, and unestablished. In this study, we gave CS one possible operational content that differs from that assigned by earlier studies. We then examined how the reconceptualized and redefined change-strategic thinking appeared in two large service organizations.
Our 30 informants were mainly HR specialists involved in change projects. We found that the
organizations engaged in no conscious efforts to develop CSs, even for the most challenging
change projects. Moreover, they rarely applied the four principles included in our definition of
CS thinking. The results indicate great challenges in the rational exploitation of the theoretical
knowledge on change. We believe that further conceptual development of CS would support
the creation of a philosophy and a tool to improve the quality of change implementation.