Innovative Organizational Design in Intelligent Wealth Management Transformation: A Multi-Case Study on Change Resistance Dissolution Mechanisms

Abstract

This paper explores the disruption properties of novel organisational design patterns on resistance to change in intelligent wealth management transformation using a case study research method. The study considers three domestic private banks for 18 months, using semi-structured interviews, focus group, participant observation, and documentary sources to identify resistance dissolution process. The study demonstrates four unique types of resistance, including technological adaptability, organizational inertia, interest pattern adjustment, and cultural cognitive resistance. Our study identifies four organizational design routines: agile architecture makeover, data-driven decison-making mechanism, cross-functional collaborative team assembly and intelligent human resources allocation strategies. The effectiveness of implementation evidences overall performance gains of 65%-89% on different mechanism types, technology-supported mechanisms leading when dealing with digitally mature contexts, while learning-based strategies performing best at the first stages of the transformation. The results suggest that organization design innovation may be applied on context-by-context basis to degrade systemic resistance when working and avoid operational disruption. This study contributes to the theory of organisational design with empirical evidence on the effectiveness of structural innovation and practical models for wealth management firms in dealing with challenges related to digital transformation.