Dynamics of Change in Communities: The governance of organizational and cultural evolution

Journal title RIVISTA DI PSICOLOGIA CLINICA
Author/s Ilaria Guacci, Luigi Brocca, Ilaria Ulgharaita, Filippo Sacquegna, Maria Luisa Lezzi, Danilo Cozzoli
Publishing Year 2025 Issue 2025/1
Language Italian Pages 16 P. 5-20 File size 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/rpc1-2025oa18868
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

View article Download Open Access article

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The Emmanuel Community, a long-standing Italian organization in the field of addiction, has undergone a significant transformation, mirroring changes in community-based organizations. It has shifted from hospitality-based care for marginalized users to structured treatment centers, moving from a total system logic to healthcare-oriented interventions. This study aims to map the organizational culture within the community, analyzing how cultural change interacts with organizational inertia and identifying models that guide professionals in integrating the autonomy of the network. Through the online administration of a battery of questionnaires, the responses of 95 participants were collected. The data was analyzed using Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Cluster Analysis. The results showed that the Emmanuel community is characterized by five symbolic universes: Idealizers, Self-referential, Professional Communities, Disengaged, Disillusio­ned. These clusters show how change has introduced standardized practices and responsibilities, improving the measurement of treatment but potentially weakening the relational and inclusive aspects, reducing empathy and patient participation. The results suggest the need to balance professionalization with the traditional values of the community to maintain an effective and human-centered treatment model.

Keywords: ; therapeutic community; organizational culture; dynamics of change; sense making; symbolic universe

  1. Agresti, A., Franklin, C. (2016). Statistics: the art and science of learning from data. Pearson.
  2. Benzecri, J. P. (1992). Correspondence Analysis Handbook. CRC Press.
  3. Browne, K. (2001). Changing demographics in drug addiction treatment: The evolution of therapeutic communities. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 20(2), 57-67. DOI: 10.1016/S0740-5472(01)00110-8.
  4. Cameron, K. S. & Quinn, R. E. (2011). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
  5. Chatman, J. A., Caldwell, D. F., O’Reilly, C. A., & Doerr, B. (2014). Parsing organizational culture: How the norm for adaptability influences the relationship between culture consensus and financial performance in high‐technology firms. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(6), 785-808. DOI: 10.1002/job.1928.
  6. Chatman, J. A., & O’Reilly, C. A. (2016). Paradigm lost: Reinvigorating the study of organizational culture. Research in Organizational Behavior, 36, 199-224. DOI: 10.1016/j.riob.2016.11.004.
  7. Cremaschi, M., Fioretti, C., Mannarini, T., & Salvatore, S. (2021). Culture and Policy-Making. Springer.
  8. De Leon, G. (2000). The therapeutic community: Theory, model, and method. Springer Publishing Company.
  9. Maitlis, S., & Christianson, M. (2014). Sensemaking in organizations: Taking stock and moving forward. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 57-125. DOI: 10.1080/19416520.2014.873177.
  10. Melnick, G., & De Leon, G. (1999). Clarifying the nature of therapeutic community treatment: The Survey of Essential Elements Questionnaire (SEEQ). Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 16(4), 307-313. DOI: 10.1016/S0740-5472(98)00036-1.
  11. Morris, M. W., Hong, Y.-y., Chiu, C.-y., & Liu, Z. (2015). Normology: Integrating insights about social norms to understand cultural dynamics. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 129, 1-13. DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2015.03.001.
  12. Reho, M. (2025). For “a meaning-centered, culturally oriented psychology” of climate change. Rivista di Psicologia Clinica, 2, 46-70. DOI: 10.3280/rpc2-2024oa18838.
  13. Reho, M., & Salvatore, S. (2024). Redefining Meaning: A Micro-Genetic Model of the Constitution of Experience. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 1-8. DOI: 10.1007/s12124-024-09849-5.
  14. Salvatore, S. (2016). Psychology in Black and White: The project of a theory-driven science. Information Age Publishing Inc.
  15. Salvatore, S., Valsiner, J., & Veltri, G. A. (2019). The Theoretical and Methodological Framework. Semiotic Cultural Psychology, Symbolic Universes and Lines of Semiotic Forces. In S. Salvatore, V. Fini, T. Mannarini, J. Valsiner, & G. A. Veltri (eds.), Symbolic Universes in Time of (Post)Crisis. The Future of European Societies (pp. 25-49). Springer.
  16. Salvatore, S., De Luca Picione, R., Cozzolino, M., Bochicchio, V., & Palmieri, A. (2022). The role of affective sensemaking in the constitution of experience. The affective pertinentization model (APER). Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 1-19. DOI: 10.1007/s12124-020-09590-9.
  17. Salvatore, S., Fini, V., Mannarini, T., Veltri, G. A., Avdi, E., Battaglia, F., et al. (2018). Symbolic universes between present and future of Europe. First results of the map of European societies’ cultural milieu. PLoS ONE, 13(1), e0189885. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189885.
  18. Salvatore, S., Palmieri, A., Picione, R. D. L., Bochicchio, V., Reho, M., Serio, M. R., & Salvatore, G. (2024). The affective grounds of the mind. The Affective Pertinentization (APER) model. Physics of Life Reviews, 50, 143-165. DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.07.008.
  19. Salvatore, S., & Zittoun, T. (eds.). (2011). Cultural psychology and psychoanalysis: Pathways to synthesis. IAP Information Age Publishing.
  20. Sullivan, C., & Moore, K. (2010). The evolving nature of drug addiction treatment: Changing patterns in client characteristics. Substance Use & Misuse, 45(4), 558-574. DOI: 10.3109/10826081003600091.
  21. Valsiner, J. (2007). Culture in Minds and Societies. Foundations of Cultural Psychology. Sage Publications.
  22. Ward, T., & Allsop, S. (2004). Comorbid substance abuse and mental health disorders: Shifting profiles in therapeutic communities. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 27(1), 1-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2004.02.004.

Ilaria Guacci, Luigi Brocca, Ilaria Ulgharaita, Filippo Sacquegna, Maria Luisa Lezzi, Danilo Cozzoli, Dynamics of Change in Communities: The governance of organizational and cultural evolution in "RIVISTA DI PSICOLOGIA CLINICA" 1/2025, pp 5-20, DOI: 10.3280/rpc1-2025oa18868