Journal Article10.2307/2392620
Central perspectives and debates in organization theory.
TL;DR: In this article, Fombrun et al. classified the diverse schools of organizational thought according to micro and macro levels of organizational analysis and deterministic versus voluntaristic assumptions of human nature to yield four basic perspectives: systemstructural, strategic choice, natural selection, and collective action views of organizations.
read more
Abstract: We appreciate the helpful suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper from Charles Fombrun, John Bryson, William Gomberg, and anonymousASQ reviewers. We also appreciate the support of the Center forthe Study of Organizational Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for release time to prepare this paper. The diverse schools of organizational thought are classified according to micro and macro levels of organizational analysis and deterministic versus voluntaristic assumptions of human nature to yield four basic perspectives: systemstructural, strategic choice, natural selection, and collective-action views of organizations. These four views represent qualitatively different concepts of organizational structure, behavior, change, and managerial roles. Six theoretical debates are then identified by systematically juxtaposing the four views against each other, and a partial reconciliation is achieved by bringing opposing viewpoints into dialectical relief. The six debates, which tend to be addressed singly and in isolation from each other in the literature, arethen integrated ata metatheoretical level. The framework presented thus attempts to overcome the problems associated with excessive theoretical compartmentalization by focusing on the interplay between divergent theoretical perspectives, but it also attempts to preserve the authenticity of distinctive viewpoints, thereby retaining the advantages associated with theoretical pluralism.*
read more
Chat with Paper
AI Agents for this Paper
Find similar papers on Google Scholar, PubMed and Arxiv
Write a critical review of this paper
Analyze citations of this paper to find unaddressed research gaps
Citations
Inter-Organizational Supply Chain Interaction for Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review
TL;DR: In this paper, a systematic literature review (SLR) is carried out to synthesize the existing knowledge and ongoing trends, and to propose a research agenda for inter-organizational supply chain interaction (IOSCI) for sustainability.
17
•Dissertation
Inter-Organisational Relationships for Events Tourism Strategy Making in Australian States and Territories
RL Stokes
- 01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of inter-organisational relationships of public sector events agencies on events tourism strategy making within Australian state/territories, based on a review of themes and issues within the two parent theories of tourism strategy and interorganisation relationships, a theoretical framework and four research issues are developed.
17
The effects of flexible firm orientations on market information use: intended and unintended consequences
TL;DR: This paper found that firms attempting to create flexibility can lean toward an innovation orientation or a speed orientation (encouraging a rapid response) and that firms which have an innovative orientation tend to use disseminated market research in a way that is consistent with the findings of the research.
17
•Journal Article
El movimiento de escuelas eficaces : implicaciones para la innovación educativa
Báez de la Fé,Bernardo Francisco +1 more
TL;DR: The first trabajos se localizan en la decada de los anos 70 en los paises anglosajones; si bien es a partir de los 80 cuando puede hablarse con propiedad de un area diferenciada de estudio, dado que solo entonces los datos empiricos disponibles comienzan a ser integrados en modelos explicativos elaborados as mentioned in this paper.
17
Augmenting learning processes of absorptive capacity for innovation: Insights for effective leadership within global pharmaceutical companies
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the results of a study undertaken in three pharmaceutical organizations that augments AC theory relating to top-and middle-level management behavior, finding that the influence of transformational and transactional leadership styles varies between the AC learning processes within and across organizations.
17
References
Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony
John W. Meyer,Brian Rowan +1 more
TL;DR: Many formal organizational structures arise as reflections of rationalized institutional rules as discussed by the authors, and the elaboration of such rules in modern states and societies accounts in part for the expansion and i...
27.5K
•Book
Exchange and power in social life
Peter M. Blau
- 01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In a seminal work as discussed by the authors, Peter M. Blau used concepts of exchange, reciprocity, imbalance, and power to examine social life and to derive the more complex processes in social structure from the simpler ones.
18K
•Book
Exchange and Power in Social Life
Peter M. Blau
- 01 Jan 1964
TL;DR: In a seminal work as discussed by the authors, Peter M. Blau used concepts of exchange, reciprocity, imbalance, and power to examine social life and to derive the more complex processes in social structure from the simpler ones.
16.8K
•Book
The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective
Jeffrey Pfeffer,Gerald R. Salancik +1 more
- 01 Jan 1978
TL;DR: The External Control of Organizations as discussed by the authors explores how external constraints affect organizations and provides insights for designing and managing organizations to mitigate these constraints, and it is the fact of the organization's dependence on the environment that makes the external constraint and control of organizational behavior both possible and almost inevitable.
13.2K