Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@@The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration.
TL;DR: Giddens as mentioned in this paper has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate effective reformism: strategies that innovation networks deploy to create changes in their environment in order to establish a more conducive context for the realization and durable embedding of their innovation projects.
628 citations
Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."
...This focuses attention to the relationship between actors’ agency and social structure which has been described in Giddens’ (1984) structuration theory....
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...In Giddens’ structuration theory, actors and the structures (i.e. their institutional environments) in which they are embedded have a dual relationship, because the ‘‘structural properties of social systems are both medium and outcome of the practices they recursively organize” (Giddens, 1984: 25)....
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...Agency is the ability to take action and make a difference over a course of events (Giddens, 1984)....
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...These thus constitute an important source of structure variation (Giddens, 1984; Alexiou and Zamenopoulos, 2008)....
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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
Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."
...Structure is both the medium and outcome of action (Giddens 1984), and all actors have the capability to do otherwise....
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...As such, the sensemaking perspective we adopt enables us to highlight the dialectic of control (Giddens 1984) in organizations, through a focus on the multiple negotiation processes that occur between different groups (Coombs et al. 1992)....
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...Calls to recognize people as agents who construct their work environments (for example, Brown 1998; Tsoukas and Chia 2002) reinforces the focus of others on interpretations and meanings within organizations (Bartunek 1984; Giddens 1984; Ranson et al. 1980; Smircich and Stubbart 1985; Willmott 1987)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a new model of career decision-making, given the shorthand title of "careership", which avoids the twin pitfalls of implicit social determinism or of seeing (young) people as completely free agents.
Abstract: In the current discourse on the transition from school to work, career decision‐making has a pivotal but paradoxical position. Sociological literature emphasises the dominance of socially‐structured pathways, whilst policy‐making operates on assumptions of individual freedom to choose. In this paper we draw on the work of Pierre Bourdieu to present a new model of career decision‐making, given the shorthand title of ‘careership’. There are three completely integrated dimensions to the model. These are (i) pragmatically rational decision‐making, located in the habitus of the person making the decision; (ii) the interactions with others in the (youth training) field, related to the unequal resources different ‘players’ possess; and (iii) the location of decisions within the partly unpredictable pattern of turning‐points and routines that make up the life course. This model avoids the twin pitfalls of implicit social determinism or of seeing (young) people as completely free agents.
622 citations
TL;DR: A vision for a redesigned information systems core class that adopts digital innovation as a fundamental and powerful concept (FPC) is presented and the implications of adoptingdigital innovation as an FPC are examined.
Abstract: The 50-year march of Moore's Law has led to the creation of a relatively cheap and increasingly easy-touse world-wide digital infrastructure of computers, mobile devices, broadband network connections, and advanced application platforms. This digital infrastructure has, in turn, accelerated the emergence of new technologies that enable transformations in how we live and work, how companies organize, and the structure of entire industries.
As a result, it has become important for all business students to have a strong grounding in IT and digital innovation in order to manage, lead, and transform organizations that are increasingly dependent on digital innovation. Yet, at many schools, students do not get such grounding because the required information systems core class is stuck in the past. We present a vision for a redesigned IS core class that adopts digital innovation as a fundamental and powerful concept (FPC). A good FPC serves as both a foundational concept and an organizing principle for a course.
We espouse a particularly broad conceptualization of digital innovation that allows for a variety of teaching styles and topical emphases for the IS core class. This conceptualization includes three types of innovation (i.e., process, product, and business model innovation), and four stages for the overall innovation process (i.e., discovery, development, diffusion, and impact). Based on this conceptualization, we examine the implications of adopting digital innovation as an FPC. We also briefly discuss broader implications relating to (1) the IS curriculum beyond the core class, (2) the research agenda for the IS field, and (3) the identity and legitimacy of IS in business schools.
613 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the practice theory approach in relation to studies of everyday life, domestic practices and consumption, and argue that this approach can be fruitful for ecological economics and other fields interested in the environmental aspects of consumption.
613 citations
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