Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. Edited by I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave. Pp. viii, 282. £3·50, paperback £1. 1970. (Cambridge University Press.)

What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

https://www.pm.lth.se/fileadmin/_migrated/content_uploads/5._Qual_Interview_Texto_Leitura_Atividade_2.pdf

The qualitative interview in IS research: Examining the craft

Everybody knows that digital technology has revolutionized our economy and our lifestyles. But how many of us really understand the drivers behind the technology – the significance of going digital; the miniaturization of electronic devices; the role of venture capital in financing the revolution; the importance of research and development? How many of us understand what it takes to make money from innovative technologies? Should we worry about manufacturing going offshore? What is the role of India and China in the digital economy? Drawing on a lifetime’s experience in the industry, as an engineer, a senior manager, and as a partner in a global venture capital firm, Henry Kressel offers an expert personalized answer to all these questions. He explains how the technology works, why it matters, how it is financed, and what the key lessons are for public policy.

Competing for the Future

Normal accidents. Living with high-risk technologies

Recently, at an Academy of Management meeting workshop, reflecting on the field, Warner Burke asked “where are the new models and theories of change?” This provocative question has been pondered within organization studies and specifically on organization theory for several decades. And yet it persists. Borrowing this debate, in this essay we reverse the question to consider whether theory might be the problem in change research. Specifically, we argue that theory has become a (figurative) straightjacket. Far from advancing debate as significantly as has regularly been assumed, an obsession with theory and a narrow understanding of what constitutes a contribution could be hampering the development of knowledge about change. The criteria for publishing organizational research are increasingly focused on adding to specific and already existing theory. As a challenge to the restrictions that have become convention, we decode what this theoretical straightjacket looks like, and query why change researchers ha...

Time to Take Off the Theoretical Straightjacket and (Re-)Introduce Phenomenon-Driven Research

In 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a massive, unexpected, and sudden disruption to billions of employees around the world Organizations and employees have been forced to transform their operational routines virtually overnight This has resulted in unprecedented demands on managers to make decisions in very uncertain conditions In times of crises such as those employees turn to organizational leaders for information, which heightens demands for effective communication of critical decisions (Van der Meer et al, 2017; Van Zoonen & Van der Meer, 2015) In general, in the “new normal” resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic many white-collar and professional employees are working from home This presents a whole range of communication challenges In response, organizations have adopted technology-driven solutions, where managers communicate time-critical information via multiple channels including but not limited to email, intranet, video conferencing, and other tools

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0021886320937026

Unraveling the What and How of Organizational Communication to Employees During COVID-19 Pandemic: Adopting an Attributional Lens

Commitment to change has been subject to several qualitative reviews in recent years. As a response to an associated lack of consensus in construct definition, Herscovitch and Meyer introduced a three-component model demonstrating affective commitment to change (i.e., ACC), normative commitment to change (i.e., NCC) and continuance commitment to change (i.e., CCC). Given the growing literature on organizational change, the aim of this paper is to take stock of a decade of research that uses Herscovitch and Meyer’s instrument to measure these three components. To determine the tool’s discriminant validity we conducted meta-analyses evaluating the strength of relations among ACC, NCC and CCC; the relations among the three components and behavioural support for change; and the moderating role of North American context versus non-North American context in shaping these relationships. Findings based on data collected from 17 studies indicate notable differences in the strength of relationships among ACC–NCC, A...

Herscovitch and Meyer’s Three-Component model of commitment to change: Meta-analytic findings

Organizational hierarchy adaptation and information technology

Phenomenon-driven research (PDR) is problem-oriented research that focuses on capturing, documenting, and conceptualizing an observed phenomenon of interest in order to facilitate knowledge creation and advancement. As an ideas-led and interpretive way of researching, and with an emphasis on exploring issues and challenges that bother those experiencing observed problems, PDR is an engaging way to develop new contributions to organizational change debates. Generating knowledge this way thereby allows for a variety of research paths and outcomes that may lead to a series of associated debates and research opportunities. Yet although it is widely acknowledged, this pathway to knowledge has not been properly described and documented, thus potentially leading to poor and fragmented understanding of what PDR is and how to pursue it. In order to understand better PDR, in this paper – and through this special issue – we showcase this orientation. Describing the core features of a PDR paper, demonstrated ...

Gavin M. Schwarz

Papers

Time to Take Off the Theoretical Straightjacket and (Re-)Introduce Phenomenon-Driven Research

Unraveling the What and How of Organizational Communication to Employees During COVID-19 Pandemic: Adopting an Attributional Lens

Herscovitch and Meyer’s Three-Component model of commitment to change: Meta-analytic findings

Organizational hierarchy adaptation and information technology

Showcasing phenomenon-driven research on organizational change