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From the eyes of change: Writing macro organizational shifts into theories of organization Masoud Shadnam July 2015.

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Presentation on theme: "From the eyes of change: Writing macro organizational shifts into theories of organization Masoud Shadnam July 2015."— Presentation transcript:

1 From the eyes of change: Writing macro organizational shifts into theories of organization Masoud Shadnam July 2015

2 Folk Reputation of Theory

3 Theory Theory versus Practical “There is nothing so practical as a good theory” Kurt Lewin Theory versus Empirical Theory is not free-floating products of imagination; rather, it is closely intertwined with the empirical “organization theory as the queen of the social sciences, uniquely able to explain the dominant social structures of our times” Davis & Marquis, 2005

4 Theories of organization Contingency theories Economic theories: Transaction-cost; Agency theory Resource-based theories Institutional theories Ecological theories These theories have all been developed during 1960s and 1970s!

5 Awareness and Response “… organizational research can sometimes appear like a living museum of the 1970s” Gerald F. Davis, 2010 Academy of Management Review (AMR) published a special topic forum on “Where are the new theories of organization?” April 2011 Several articles since then have provided plenty of proposals to break out of the deadlock This is the conversation to which I aim to contribute

6 Post-positivism “all scientific development is a two-tiered process, propelled as much by theoretical as by empirical argument” Alexander, 1982: 30 Theorizing as two performative acts: o Reading the external reality as a text from the eyes of existing theories o Writing theories as a text for a specific audience, mostly for academics in the same field

7 Two Models for Developing New Theories of Organization The current suggestions fall under the following two models: Theories New Theories New Organizational Reality Organizational Reality Time Rereading Writing Theories New Theories New Organizational Reality Organizational Reality Time Reading Writing Model 1Model 2

8 An Alternative Model Our proposed model: Theories New Theories New Organizational Reality Organizational Reality Time Reading Writing Model 3 Macro Organizational Shift

9 Historical Examples Although the proposed third model is an unusual, marginal practice in today organization studies, it has historically been used to develop many of the renowned theories in social sciences Economic and Social Theories Marxist Theories New RealityReality Time Reading Writing Marx Capitalism Social and Political Theories Weberian Theories New RealityReality Time Reading Writing Weber Modernity

10 Examples in Organization Research Theories New Theories New Organizational Reality Organizational Reality Time Reading Writing Agency Theory Separation of ownership and control Theories New Theories New Organizational Reality Organizational Reality Time Reading Writing Institutional Theory Domination of rationalized myths

11 Comparison between Models Model 1Model 2Model 3 Object of readingTheoriesPresent organizational reality Shifts of organizational reality Object of writingNon-empirical refinements of past theories Empirical refinements of past theories New theories (transformed from past theories) Connection of new theories with the external reality WeakStrong Reception of new theories in the academic community EasyHardEasy

12 Illustration: Textualization Organizational members are expected to engage in producing, disseminating, and consuming myriad texts, both spoken and written, in a manner far beyond the traditional boundaries of their job o Regimes of participative management with several kinds of talks and meetings to reflect upon the work and suggest adjustments or changes in the work processes o Empowered employees and self-managing teams that screen and digest large amounts of readily available text on internet and intranets in search of solutions to their problems o Open communication with others who are not necessarily your coworkers regarding your concerns, issues, opinions, and suggestions

13 Institutional Theory Explaining the dynamics of organizational forms through embedding the organizations in an institutional context o Rather than explaining through the more customary examinations of the managers’ objectives, beliefs, styles, motivations, and their conscious decision making process It showed how seemingly rational decisions of smart top executives can be predicted by stepping back and looking at the myths and meanings in their institutional environment This theory could very well describe the organizational reality of its time, which was observed as organizations operating in the same field over time become structurally similar ( isomorphism )

14 Writing Textualization into Institutional Theory All the continuous textualizing that oblige organizational members to constantly reflect upon processes and structures and courageously try out alternatives has led organizational forms to become highly unstable, fluid, and flexible The access of organizational members to the world of meanings is no longer primarily through interactions with actors in the same field; rather, it is through their access to numerous texts of various sorts from diverse geographical and historical sources => Isomorphism is increasingly giving way to variation and heterogeneity Access to a way larger pool of texts has heterogenized the sources of rationality and legitimacy

15 Toward a New Theory Textualization has changed patterns of communication, which in turn have changed patterns of the social processes that constitute organizational reality The new theory has to highlight o Textualizing and silencing practices o Distribution channels of texts o The ways that texts influence other texts

16 Conclusion A red flag about the stagnation of organization studies with respect to shortage of new theories The proposals that have been suggested in response to this red flag are categorized into two models I articulated a third model with promising potentials to complement the other two models The core idea of the third model: Reading shifts of the organizational reality and writing them into existing theories of organization

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