Apologies for cross-postings. Articles from the October 2021 issue of the Journal of Management Inquiry are now available. Please enjoy free access through November 2021 by clicking on the URL for each article.
EDITORS' CHOICE
Second Acts and Second Chances: The Bumpy Road to Redemption
Robert J. Bies, Thomas M. Tripp, and Laurie J. Barclay
Vol 30(4): 371-384
https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492620986858
Abstract
Throughout history, there are numerous examples of business and government leaders who have fallen from grace only to rise again, and have a "second act" and a "second chance" as a legitimate social actor or leader-that is, they achieved redemption. We explore "the road to redemption" of leaders-when and why it occurs, and what "bumps" prevent it. In our analysis, we conceptualize redemption as a process with three elements-remorse, rehabilitation, and restoration-and as an outcome (the restoration of legitimacy). We argue that achieving redemption is not a product of chance; rather, it is a social construction process of narrative creation and identity construction involving many parties. Also, the road to redemption is shaped by cultural-specific factors-and it is temporally dependent. From this framework, we identify new directions for the theory and practice of leadership.
Keywords: leadership, legitimacy, justice/fairness, power and politics, identity
CURATED
Social Class in Organizations: Entrance, Promotion, and Organizational and Societal Consequences of the Corporate Elite
Michelle K. Lee, Jennifer J. Kish-Gephart, Mark S. Mizruchi, Donald A. Palmer, and Michael Useem
Vol 30(4): 385-394
https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926211027661
Abstract
Organizational theorists studying executives of large corporations have long theorized that top management is dominated by elites of upper social class background. Organizations reflect the class system in the societies they are situated in by advantaging those of higher social class background. If organizations are perpetuating societal inequality by favoring those from higher social class and positioning them to dictate organizational outcomes, it is important to understand ways to reduce inequality by increasing social class diversity, and theorize on the implications of this diversity for business and society. This article brings together scholars on the forefront of social class research to understand the influence of social class on the corporate elite. The scholars explore the effect of social class in attaining access to the most influential managerial positions, conditions that enable greater diversity, and how the corporate elite can affect firm strategic actions and key societal outcomes.
Keywords: decision-making: individual/CEO, corporate governance, business & society, diversity, top management teams/upper echelon
ESSAYS
Dynamic Capabilities? Unleashing Their Dynamics through a Practice Perspective on Organizational Routines
Matthias Wenzel, Anja Danner-Schröder , and A. Paul Spee
Vol 30(4): 395-406
https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492620916549
Abstract
The current conceptualization of dynamic capabilities entails a paradox, one that hampers the achievement of one of the framework's main missions: While studies on dynamic capabilities claim to offer explanations of continuous, routine-based organizational change, their prevalent conceptualization of organizational routines is rather undynamic and less prone to change. Thus, we propose to draw on an alternative, practice-based understanding of organizational routines to unravel the "dynamics" of dynamic capabilities. The practice perspective captures and explains the internal dynamics of organizational routines and positions the performance of organizational routines as a source of both organizational stability and change. This perspective offers to deepen our understanding of the dynamics within dynamic capabilities as driver of routine-based organizational change. To foster a research agenda that advances our understanding of dynamic capabilities from a practice perspective on organizational routines, we provide onto-epistemological, theoretical, and methodological implications of such a "dynamic view" of dynamic capabilities.
Keywords: dynamic capabilities, organizational change, organizational routines, routine dynamics
EMPIRICAL
Honorable Surrender: On the Erosion of Resistance in a University Setting
Mats Alvesson and Betina Szkudlarek
Vol 30(4): 407-420
https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492620939189
Abstract
This article addresses the temporality of resistance in the work context. We focus on the challenge of increasingly diminishing professional autonomy in higher education institutions as well as the vulnerability of staff subjected to academic managerialism. A case where a lecturer is exposed to the requirements to revise grading by senior administration is investigated. Power is understood from the "target's" perspective and viewed as the erosion of resistance. We introduce the concepts honorable surrender and smoothers to capture the process of giving up of resistance. We argue that these concepts are of special significance in autonomy-espousing work contexts where multiplicity of power resources are employed to subordinate employees and influence their professional identities. We contend that de-subjectification is key in understanding the erosion of resistance.
Keywords: power and politics, education, careers
On the Fluidity of Institutional Change: Complex Interrelations Between Multiple Types of Institutional Work During the Serbian Transition
Andreea Zara and Héléne Delacour
Vol 30(4): 421-437
https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492620949688
Abstract
To extend the understanding of institutional change at the societal level, we explore the way in which multiple types of institutional work are interrelated, and how the interrelations affect both the institutional change and its outcome. Through an in-depth study of the Serbian transition between 2000 and 2008, our findings reveal first that this specific context expands the range of institutional work, for example, the pressure and capitalization work performed by the Mafia, tycoons, and opportunistic politicians in our case. Second, we highlight four complex characteristics of the interrelations between multiple types of institutional work: feedback loops, non-linearity, emergent properties, and discontinuity. We contribute to the neo-institutional literature by showing the importance to attend to the interrelations between multiple types of institutional work performed by different actors, as to understand institutional change, its fluidity, complexity, and its outcome.
Keywords: institutional change, institutional work, interrelations, societal level
Value-independent Third-party Orchestrators as Catalysts of Business Collaboration
Bruce Pinnington, Andrew Lyons, and Joanne Meehan
Vol 30(4): 438-453
https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492620959455
Abstract
Collaboration is recognized by policy-makers as a key element in innovation-led economic growth. Collaborative relationships form organically, but also can be actively facilitated. Studies of business collaboration facilitation typically concentrate on value-appropriating commercial organizations, acting as hub orchestrators or knowledge-brokers. Little attention has been paid to potentially more trustable and effective value-independent facilitators. The attributes and activities of these organizations were empirically investigated using grounded theory and situational analysis. Value-independent, third-party orchestrators (i3POs) are demarcated from related concepts, and are found to vary considerably in capability and motivation as collaboration orchestrators. A reappraisal of these organizations' drivers, from the perspective of collective action theory, suggests how more i3POs may be encouraged to follow the practices of leading examples, with positive economic outcomes. Membership-based i3POs, such as trade associations, have longer term potential as collaboration orchestrators than transient business-growth programs but are under-exploited in this regard.
Keywords: grounded theory, organization theory, public management, business & government
GENERATIVE CURIOSITY
Seeing Red and Blue: Political Discrimination at Work
Lemaro R. Thompson
Vol 30(4): 454-460
https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926211024358
Abstract
Workplace political discrimination is a problem that warrants scholarly attention. Recent scholarship has shown that partisans are willing to discriminate against opposing partisans in apolitical settings such as the workplace. Moreover, many countries have no legal protection against political discrimination and social norms often exacerbate it. Like other forms of discrimination, political discrimination in the workplace furthers inequality and likely results in similar negative outcomes: health problems, violence, turnover, and reduced productivity. This article calls for scholars to explore and investigate this phenomenon in the workplace.
Keywords: organizational behavior, diversity, culture and climate, human resource management, organizational identity
REFLECTIONS ON EXPERIENCE
Educating Incarcerated Professionals: Challenges and Lessons from an Extreme PhD Context
William S. Harvey and Navdeep K. Arora
Vol 30(4): 461-467
https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926211007204
Abstract
This essay outlines a unique set of challenges that we confronted as a PhD supervisor and candidate, drawing on a research project within a United States Federal Prison. We elicit the challenges that can be faced at different stages before, during, and after fieldwork, and share three lessons for others. First, exploring unique phenomena and processes often requires conducting research in extreme empirical contexts, which while challenging, helps to establish the boundaries within which other archetypes can be studied. Second, educating incarcerated individuals is a challenge and an opportunity, and requires creative approaches that can transcend work, family, and social boundaries. Finally, while it is tempting for supervisors and candidates to embark on PhDs for instrumental purposes, helping to support and develop each other should be the core motivation. We hope that others can learn from our experience and reflect on and share more widely their own experiences and practices.
Keywords: qualitative research, reputation, management education
PROVOCATIONS & PROVOCATEURS
Editor's Introduction
Denny Gioia
Vol 30(4): 468
https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926211030408
Following up on "A Letter to the Male Good Apples"
Ileana Stigliani
Vol 30(4): 469-471
https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926211030410
Abstract
Drawing on the Letter to the Male "Good Apples" recently appeared in this section, my letter has a twofold aim: to provoke all the Male "Good Apples" in academia and to offer them an olive branch. As I provide them with a few practical suggestions, I hope to illuminate their way forward to truly "getting it". It's time to stop talking a good game and to start playing a better game.
Inequalities and Institutions that Benefit Good Apples
Charlene Zietsma
Vol 30(4): 472-475
https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926211030430
Abstract
I describe three types of inequalities that benefit "good apples" and harm women in Academe: inequality of recognition, inequality of effort required, and inequality in societal institutions around home and career. I then describe three hard things that "good apples" can do, focusing on the institutional level: building awareness, changing structures and adapting social norms.
Postscript for "A Letter to the Male Good Apples"
Anonymous
Vol 30(4): 476
https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926211030431
The Editors and Editorial Board of JMI thanks Sage Publications for its generosity in sharing published articles openly.
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Richard Stackman
Professor
University of San Francisco
San Francisco CA
(415) 422-2148
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