Showing papers in "Organization Studies in 2005"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a theoretical framework that helps to deal with markets without suspending their calculative properties, and apply this definition to three constitutive elements of markets: economic goods, economic agents and economic exchanges.
Abstract: How to address empirically the calculative character of markets without dissolving it? In our paper, we propose a theoretical framework that helps to deal with markets without suspending their calculative properties. In the first section, we construct a broad definition of calculation, grounded on the anthropology of science and techniques. In the next sections, we apply this definition to three constitutive elements of markets: economic goods, economic agents and economic exchanges. First, we examine the question of the calculability of goods: in order to be calculated, goods must be calculable. In the following section, we introduce the notion of calculative distributed agencies to understand how these calculable goods are actually calculated. Thirdly, we consider the rules and material devices that organize the encounter between (and aggregation of) individual supplies and demands, i.e. the specific organizations that allow for a calculated exchange and a market output. Those three elements define conc...
1,152 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a typology of four approaches for studying organizational change is developed, and the authors argue that coordinating the pluralistic insights from the four approaches provides a richer understanding of organization change than any one approach provides by itself.
Abstract: Scholars hold different views about whether organizations consist of things or processes and about variance or process methods for conducting research. By combining these two dimensions, we develop a typology of four approaches for studying organizational change. Although the four approaches may be viewed as opposing or competing views, we see them as being complementary. Each approach focuses on different questions and provides a different — but partial — understanding of organizational change. We argue that coordinating the pluralistic insights from the four approaches provides a richer understanding of organization change than any one approach provides by itself.
918 citations
TL;DR: This paper introduced a new form of social ontology called site ontology and sketched its bearings on the analysis of organizations, and the bearing of the latter ontology on the character, origin, and perpetuation of organizations was considered, using an academic department as an example.
Abstract: This essay introduces a new form of social ontology and sketches its bearings on the analysis of organizations. The essay begins by contrasting the two social ontological camps — individualism and societism — into which social theory has been divided since its inception. It then describes the new approach, called site ontology, according to which social life is tied to a context (site) of which it is inherently a part. Examples of such ontologies are presented, as is my own thesis that the site of social life is composed of a nexus of human practices and material arrangements. The bearing of the latter ontology on the character, origin, and perpetuation of organizations is then considered, using an academic department as an example. Contrasts are also drawn with various approaches in organizations theory, including rational organizations, neoinstitutionalism, systems theories, and selection theories. A final section considers the complex psychological structure of organizations, working off Karl Weick and...
770 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that a version of critical discourse analysis based on a critical realist social ontology is potentially of greater value to organization studies, and refer in particular to the contribution it can make to research on organizational change.
Abstract: Although studies of organization certainly need to include analysis of discourse, one prominent tendency within current research on organizational discourse limits its value for organizational studies through a commitment to postmodernism and extreme versions of social constructivism. I argue that a version of critical discourse analysis based on a critical realist social ontology is potentially of greater value to organization studies, and I refer in particular to the contribution it can make to research on organizational change.
749 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a theoretical and empirical analysis of the micro-politics of resistance is presented, focusing on the UK public services, drawing from texts generated within interviews with public service professionals in the police, social services and secondary education to explore the meanings individuals ascribe to the discourse of New Public Management and their positioning within these meanings.
Abstract: This article presents theoretical and empirical analysis of the micro-politics of resistance. We theorize resistance at the level of meanings and subjectivities, drawing attention to the multidirectional and generative effects in identity construction. We address two shortcomings present in much of the theorizing of resistance, namely, the conceptualizing of resistance as a set of actions and behaviours, and the narrow conception of resistance as a reaction to repressive power. Focusing on the UK public services, we draw from texts generated within interviews with public service professionals in the police, social services and secondary education to explore the meanings individuals ascribe to the discourse of New Public Management (NPM) and their positioning within these meanings. The analysis contributes to the study of organizations in three respects. First, it offers a more detailed and varied understanding of resistance that can account for different motivations and ways in which individuals struggle to transform meanings. Second, drawing on specific cases, it illustrates the process of the micro-politics of resistance. Third, it presents an empirically grounded understanding of the character and conduct of NPM that can accommodate greater complexity and nuance.
727 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a conceptualization of agency that considers that change may result from diverse forms of agency (i.e. strategic, routine, and sense-making) focusing on the process as opposed to the skills required for mobilization.
Abstract: This paper proposes that processes of institutional change vary depending on the form taken by the three factors that define them: agency, resource mobilization, and opportunity. The paper builds on a conceptualization of agency that considers that change may result from diverse forms of agency (i.e. strategic, routine, and sense-making). It develops the concept of resource mobilization, focusing on the process as opposed to the skills required for mobilization. It then suggests that the mobilization of resources, support and acceptance, accompanying the diffusion and legitimation of institutional changes may follow leverage, partaking, or convening processes. Finally, the paper defines institutional opportunity as an objective condition of organizational fields, suggesting that fields may be opportunity opaque, transparent, or hazy. Opportunities, of course, only become real when perceived by actors. Building on current sociological work, the paper suggests that actors’ perception of the opportunity tran...
709 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the relationship between trust, contract and relationship outcome in complex inter-firm relationships and found that trust and contract can be both complements and substitutes and that a close study of a contract's content offers alternative insight into the presence and use of contracts in inter-organizational relationships.
Abstract: This article contributes to the debate on the relation between trust and control in the management of inter-organizational relations. More specifically, we focus on the question how trust and formal contract are related. While there have been studies on whether trust and contract are substitutes or complements, they offer little insight into the dynamic interaction between the two. They fail to answer, first, whether contract precedes trust or follows it, in other words, what causal relationship exists between the concepts; second, how and why trust and contract can substitute or complement each other; and third, how the various combinations of trust and contract affect a relationship’s development and outcome. In search of answers, we conducted longitudinal case studies to reveal the relationship between trust, contract and relationship outcome in complex inter-firm relationships. We find trust and contract to be both complements and substitutes and find that a close study of a contract’s content offers alternative insight into the presence and use of contracts in inter-firm relationships.
649 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the social processes of interaction between middle managers as change recipients as they try to make sense of the change interventions, and show the extent to which lateral, informal processes of inter-recipient sensemaking contribute to both intended and unintended change outcomes, and therefore the unpredictable, emergent nature of strategic change.
Abstract: The tendency for intended strategies to lead to unintended consequences is well documented. This longitudinal, real-time analysis of planned change implementation provides an explanation for this phenomenon. We focus on the social processes of interaction between middle managers as change recipients as they try to make sense of the change interventions. We show the extent to which lateral, informal processes of inter-recipient sensemaking contribute to both intended and unintended change outcomes, and therefore the unpredictable, emergent nature of strategic change. The findings raise the issue of the extent to which it is possible to manage evolving recipient interpretations during change implementation.
622 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a theoretical model that helps to understand change in mature organizational fields by emphasizing the role of competing institutional logics as part of a radical change process.
Abstract: In this paper we develop a theoretical model that helps to understand change in mature organizational fields by emphasizing the role of competing institutional logics as part of a radical change process. Our investigation into a large-scale, government-led health reform initiative in Alberta, Canada, is based upon a qualitative case study approach to understanding the process of field recomposition. This study focuses on the later portions of change in an organizational field — that is, rather than explaining the sources of change, we investigate how a field becomes re-established after the implementation of a radical structural change.
593 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe a five-stage phenomenological model of skill acquisition, of which expertise is the highest stage, and argue that expertise in general, and medical expertise in particular, cannot be captured in rule-based expert systems, since expertise is based on the making of immediate, unreflective situational responses.
Abstract: In this paper we describe a five-stage phenomenological model of skill acquisition, of which expertise is the highest stage. Contrary to the claims of knowledge engineers, we argue that expertise in general, and medical expertise in particular, cannot be captured in rule-based expert systems, since expertise is based on the making of immediate, unreflective situational responses; intuitive judgment is the hallmark of expertise. Deliberation is certainly used by experts, if time permits, but it is done for the purpose of improving intuition, not replacing it. The best way to avoid mistakes is to take responsibility for them when they occur, rather than try to prevent them by foolproof rules. In bureaucratic societies, however, there is the danger that expertise may be diminished through over-reliance on calculative rationality.
555 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the effects of social exchange processes between alliance partners on the extent of learning and knowledge transfer in a strategic alliance and found that social exchanges such as reciprocal commitment, trust, and mutual influence between partners are positively related to learning in strategic alliances.
Abstract: Although social interactions and exchanges between partners are emphasized as imperative for alliance success, comprehensive examination of how social exchanges facilitate learning and knowledge transfer in strategic alliances is lacking. Drawing on social exchange theory, we examined the effects of social exchange processes between alliance partners on the extent of learning and knowledge transfer in a strategic alliance. An empirical examination of data collected from alliance managers of 144 strategic alliances revealed that social exchanges such as reciprocal commitment, trust, and mutual influence between partners are positively related to learning and knowledge transfer in strategic alliances.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors adopt a discourse analytic methodology to explore the role of institutional entrepreneurs in the process of institutional change that coincides with the adoption of a radically new technology, and develop an initial typology of the strategies available to institutional entrepreneurs who wish to affect the processes of social construction that lead to change in institutional fields.
Abstract: In this paper, we adopt a discourse analytic methodology to explore the role of institutional entrepreneurs in the process of institutional change that coincides with the adoption of a radically new technology. More specifically, we examine how Kodak managed to transform photography from a highly specialized activity to one that became an integral part of everyday life. Based on this case, we develop an initial typology of the strategies available to institutional entrepreneurs who wish to affect the processes of social construction that lead to change in institutional fields. The use of discourse analysis in analysing institutional change provides new insights into the processes through which institutional fields evolve as well as into how institutional entrepreneurs are able to act strategically to embody their interests in the resulting institutions.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify patterns of use of Giddens's theory in publications in the domain of IT, and then describe how IT researchers have attempted to address its major empirical challenges.
Abstract: Giddens’s structuration theory is increasingly used as an alternative approach to studying numerous organizational phenomena. However, the applicability of Giddens’s concepts is not without difficulties because of two main challenges. First, structuration theory is complex, involving concepts and general propositions that operate at a high level of abstraction. Second, structuration theory is not easily coupled to any specific research method or methodological approach, and it is difficult to apply empirically. Arguing that structuration theory is a valuable framework for a rich understanding of management, organization and related subjects of inquiry, this paper aims to improve the application of structuration theory in empirical work by drawing on the experience in information technology (IT) research. It identifies patterns of use of Giddens’s theory in publications in the domain of IT, and then describes how IT researchers have attempted to address its major empirical challenges. The paper presents a ...
TL;DR: In this article, two forms of perceived external prestige (social and economic) were identified and compared to perceived external economic prestige, perceived external social prestige seems to have a larger effect on affective commitment.
Abstract: In a study that involved social workers in the Israeli health care system, two forms of perceived external prestige (social and economic) were identified. The results indicate that both forms of perceived external prestige augment employees’ affective commitment to their organization. Compared to perceived external economic prestige, however, perceived external social prestige seems to have a larger effect on affective commitment. In addition, employees’ affective commitment to their organization appeared to mediate the relationship between perceived external social prestige and citizenship behavior. It appears, however, that affective commitment augments altruistic behavior to a larger degree than that of compliance behavior.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that attributing institutional change to a single event or 'jolt' leads to a flawed understanding of institutional change processes, and demonstrate that, rather than causing institutional change, events are a part of the change process, and only become significant as actors bring them to our notice and 'theorize' around them.
Abstract: Institutional theorists have recently been moving towards a notion that non-isomorphic institutional change is precipitated by significant events or ‘jolts’. In this paper, we argue that in doing so theorists have tended to move away from the social constructivist roots of institutional theory towards an understanding which implies the emergence of new organizational forms or practices in response to functional imperatives. In this context, we examine the ongoing institutional change from photography to digital imaging. Our analysis suggests that attributing institutional change to a single event or ‘jolt’ leads to a flawed understanding of institutional change processes. We demonstrate that, rather than causing institutional change, events are a part of the change process, and only become significant as actors bring them to our notice and ‘theorize’ around them (Greenwood et al. 2002). This social construction process determines the scope, significance and relevance of events, leading to the development ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that there are cognitive limits to the extent of division of labour: what kinds of problems firms solve, and how they solve them, set limits to their ability to solve them.
Abstract: This paper builds upon current research into the organizational implications of ‘modularity’. Advocates of modularity argue that the ‘invisible hand’ of markets is reaching activities previously controlled through the visible hand of hierarchies. This paper argues that there are cognitive limits to the extent of division of labour: what kinds of problems firms solve, and how they solve them, set limits to the extent of division of labour, irrespective of the extent of the market. This paper analyses the cognitive limits to the division of labour, relying on an in-depth case study of engineering design activities. On this basis, it explains why coordinating increasingly specialized bodies of knowledge, and increasingly distributed learning processes, requires the presence of knowledge-integrating firms even in the presence of modular products. Such firms, relying on their wide in-house scientific and technological capabilities, have the ‘authority’ to identify, propose and implement solutions to complex pr...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between top management demographics, rational decision making (RDM), munificence, and firm performance, and provided support for the assertion that top management demographic characteristics influence decision making.
Abstract: This study examines the relationships between top management demographics, rational decision making (RDM), munificence, and firm performance. We expect top management demographics to influence rational decision making, and rational decision making to influence firm performance. In addition, we hypothesize a moderating effect of environmental munificence on the rational decision making-firm performance relationship. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a survey that measured RDM. Top management demographic characteristics, environmental munificence, and firm performance were collected from archival sources. We examined the relationships between RDM and top management age, tenure, and education level, using regression analyses. The results of this study provide support for the assertion that top management demographic characteristics influence decision making, and for the role of environmental munificence as a moderator in the relationship between decision making and organizational performance.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that domain expansion raises three important research questions: first, the factors that lead legitimating agencies to expand their domain; second, the need to maintain legitimacy among existing constituents; and third, the establishment of legitimacy in the new domain.
Abstract: This article proposes that legitimating agencies such as accreditation organizations face selection pressures to both maintain their legitimacy among their constituents, but also to expand the domain of their activities. We argue that domain expansion raises three important research questions: first, the factors that lead legitimating agencies to expand their domain; second, the need to maintain legitimacy among existing constituents; and third, the establishment of legitimacy in the new domain. We use the domain expansion of the AACSB to develop propositions relevant to these three research issues. Quality concerns, process vs. content strategy, and institutional entrepreneurship are the main factors that impact the legitimation of legitimating agencies.
TL;DR: This article explored a case study of a public sector research funding organization that employed strategic ambiguity to delegate considerable authority to stakeholders, stimulating a variety of creative responses during a period of major system restructuring.
Abstract: Most power relationships between organizations and stakeholders are episodic circuits of power whereby resource dependence is exacerbated by prohibitive rules. Such relationships are usually constraining rather than empowering and generate resistance and reluctant compliance rather than co-operation and creativity. Clegg's (1989) concept of facilitative circuits of power, however, suggests that some power relationships, particular where high amounts of discretion are delegated, can result in innovation by stakeholders. Public sector agencies have multiple and diverse external stakeholder groups that they need to influence in order to implement their strategies. In this paper, we explore a facilitative circuit of power using a case study of a public sector research funding organization that employed strategic ambiguity to delegate considerable authority to stakeholders, stimulating a variety of creative responses during a period of major system restructuring. Risks associated with such a practice include t...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors develop an inductive framework to explain why, after long periods of vertical specialization, industries shift to vertical reintegration, which often demands new "all-in-one" markets.
Abstract: Existing studies, largely based in transaction cost economics, approach the issue of vertical scope as the decision of the individual firm about whether to make or buy, given the set of existing markets and well defined vertical segments. However, recent research has shown that the ability to make or buy should not be taken for granted. We argue that this applies not only to dis-integration, but also to re-integration, which often demands new ‘all-in-one’ markets. Drawing on the British building industry, we develop an inductive framework to explain why, after long periods of vertical specialization, industries shift to vertical reintegration. We observe that various groups, including professionals, play an active role in shaping the nature and the boundaries of the industry, facilitating the onset of vertical specialization, which, in turn, shapes a number of increasingly distinct knowledge bases in the industry, defining the trajectories along which capabilities evolve over time. As specialization in sc...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors defined the construct of team atmosphere and provided a framework within which causes and consequences of the team atmosphere in knowledge transfer and creation can be empirically investigated.
Abstract: This study defines the construct of team atmosphere and provides a framework within which causes and consequences of team atmosphere in knowledge transfer and creation can be empirically investigated. Data were collected using a survey of 363 individuals of 12 companies who worked in self-managed teams. As predicted, results indicated that a ‘high care’ atmosphere among team members favours both the transfer and the creation of knowledge. Findings also showed that certain management initiatives foster this type of atmosphere. The study concludes with some recommendations for future research in this area.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that agency theory may too closely reflect the US institutional context to explain the governance heritages that exist elsewhere, and they propose a nationally bounded model for determining what constitutes opportunistic behavior and what can be done to limit it.
Abstract: We reason that agency theory’s behavioral assumptions may too closely reflect the US institutional context to explain the governance heritages that exist elsewhere. We propose that what constitutes opportunistic behavior and what can be done to limit it may vary due to differences in national background and formal institutions. We then test the validity of this nationally bounded model using historical sociology analysis of three nations whose corporate governance heritages are believed to differ (USA, Sweden, and France). Specifically, we review their political, cultural, and economic institutions to explore the different ways that their governance practices have evolved and infer causes for these historical variations.
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparative study of the growth and internationalization of corporate law firms in the UK and Germany is presented, showing that in both settings "institutional pockets" of corporate lawyers existed whose entrepreneurial orientations and international reach were much stronger than among other subgroups of the profession.
Abstract: This article addresses the question of how economic actors (re)shape their organizational and institutional contexts as their activities internationalize. By focusing on law firms, we choose a professional activity that has been regarded as highly determined by the national distinctiveness of professional and legal systems and would lead us to expect strong institutional legacies on firm dynamics. The comparative study of the growth and internationalization of corporate law firms in the UK and Germany presented in this article, however, refutes this view. The results reveal that in both settings ‘institutional pockets’ of corporate lawyers existed whose entrepreneurial orientations and international reach were much stronger than among other subgroups of the profession. From the 1970s onwards, these lawyers and law firms engaged in redefining their organizational and institutional contexts with the aim of positioning themselves in ways that would allow them to seize upon the emerging international markets ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report findings from an eight-year ethnographic study of the integration process in a large healthcare system formed in a 1994 merger and identify a vicious cycle of repeated conflicts in how organizational members made sense of issues that emerged during the post-merger integration journey.
Abstract: This paper reports findings from an eight-year ethnographic study of the integration process in a large healthcare system formed in a 1994 merger. We examine the post-merger integration process by analyzing the relative amounts of time that senior managers in one unit of this organization spent discussing various integration topics and issues in their bi-weekly meetings from 1995 to 2002. We also describe the different patterns observed when managers addressed topics in their meetings related to internal unit integration versus integration with other parts of the organization. Finally, we identify a vicious cycle of repeated conflicts in how organizational members made sense of issues that emerged during the post-merger integration journey.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that achieving an effective employee mindset toward acquisition may be less a process of limiting acquisitions to firms with more similar cultures than it is an ability to manage cultural differences through cultural learning.
Abstract: In this exploratory study we argue that achieving an effective employee mindset toward acquisition may be less a process of limiting acquisitions to firms with more similar cultures than it is an ability to manage cultural differences through cultural learning. This study is the first to systematically and empirically examine cultural learning interventions as they apply to the post-acquisition integration process. The longitudinal results from a field experiment across three pairs of matched plants indicate that cultural distance between employees from combining firms can be bridged during the early stages of the integration process. Deep-level cultural learning interventions were found to develop constructive employee perceptions and attitudes that are believed to enhance performance in acquisitions requiring human integration to achieve synergies.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the impact of expatriate managers on the relationship between the acquirer's industry, host country and acquisition experience and the survival of the acquired subsidiary.
Abstract: Do expatriate managers fulfil the role of ‘value-seeking connectors’ in cross-border acquisitions? Building from the organizational knowledge and the MNC literature, this paper focuses on the use of expatriate managers for transferring experience-based knowledge within the MNC and its impact on the survival of acquired subsidiaries. Using a sample of cross-border acquisitions by Japanese MNCs, we analysed the impact of expatriate managers on the relationship between the acquirer’s industry, host country and acquisition experience and the survival of the acquired subsidiary. Results show that the contribution of expatriation to the acquired firm’s survival varies considerably depending on the type of experience considered. In fact, connectivity through expatriation is costly and only when appropriately sent abroad do expatriate managers build an effective bridge over the troubled water that characterizes the challenging post-acquisition integration.
TL;DR: In this article, the act of relating is viewed as the continuous work of connecting and disconnecting in a fluctuating network of existential events and the human world is re-lated as a restless scene of flowing parts in which whole, self-contained objects take second place to the continuous transmission of movement.
Abstract: The act of relating is analysed as a constitutive feature of human agency. Relating is viewed as the continuous work of connecting and disconnecting in a fluctuating network of existential events. Relating re-lates the human world as a restless scene of flowing parts in which whole, self-contained objects take second place to the continuous transmission of movement. The relating of the world of moving parts is illustrated through the examples of modern methods of mass production and the transmission of information which both produce a 'weakening of reality'.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine technical and internal organizational contingencies which encourage and discourage the adoption of institutionalized structural elements, namely ISO 9000 standards, and show that the extent of customized production and a dominant influence of top management on quality control decisions reduce the likelihood of adopting ISO 9000 Standards.
Abstract: In this paper we examine technical and internal organizational contingencies which encourage and discourage the adoption of institutionalized structural elements, namely ISO 9000 standards. The results show that the extent of customized production and a dominant influence of top management on quality control decisions reduce the likelihood of adopting ISO 9000 standards. However, the latter factor changes its influence significantly with greater organizational size and administrative intensity — two entities which increase the pressure to adapt to external expectations.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a framework for interorganizational learning that allows study of how learning is affected by the characteristics of the origin and destination organizations and their relationship, and survey recent findings within this framework and develop new propositions on the population-level consequences of interorganization learning from innovations.
Abstract: Organizations can learn from the innovations made or adopted by other organizations. I present a framework for interorganizational learning that allows study of how learning is affected by the characteristics of the origin and destination organizations and their relationship. I survey recent findings within this framework and develop new propositions on the population-level consequences of interorganizational learning from innovations. I identify areas of work that have received insufficient attention and make new proposals for research.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on the experiences of home-workers and their families coping with the co-presence of the sometimes conflicting and sometimes competing demands and values embedded in such discourses.
Abstract: Advances in communication and information technologies, changing managerial strategies and changing cultural expectations about the location of (paid) work, have meant that paid work is increasingly conducted from home. Home then becomes the place where the discourse of industrial production meets with the discourse of household production. We analyse the relationship between these two traditionally separate discourses, which, through the disintegration of the time/space compression, increasingly come to bear on each other. We report on the experiences of home-workers and their families coping with the co-presence of the sometimes conflicting and sometimes competing demands and values embedded in such discourses. In doing so, we contribute to current understandings of the complexities inherent in emergent forms of organization, as the relationship between work and home is recast. Theoretically and methodologically, this empirical study is located within a discursive framework, and we emphasize the usefuln...