Methodological Implications of a Creative Synthesis of History and Organization Studies - PowerPoint Presentation

1. Methodological Implications of a Creative Synthesis of History and Organization Studies AoM 2017 PDW Historical Methods for Management and Organizational ResearchMichael RowlinsonUniversity of Exeter Business School

2. Godfrey, P. C., Hassard, J., O’Connor, E. S., Rowlinson, M., & Ruef, M. 2016. What Is Organizational History? Toward a Creative Synthesis of History and Organization Studies. Academy of Management Review, 41(4): 590-608.Introduction to the Special Topic Forum of the Academy of Management Review with

3. abstractAs a synthesis of organization theory and historiography the field of organizational history is mature enough to contribute to wider theoretical and historiographical debates, and sufficiently developed for a theoretical consideration of its subject matter. In other words it is appropriate to answer the question “What is organizational history?” along the same lines as it has been answered for the discipline of history as a whole and for other subfields. Organizational history can be considered as a subfield of organization studies first in response to the ‘historic turn,’ which has promoted historical research as a way to enrich organization studies and related fields such as strategy. Second, advocates of history in organization studies have argued that if ‘history matters’ then organization theory itself needs to take a theoretical account of the past, and not merely use history to test or illustrate theory. Third, the recognition of ‘history as rhetoric’ leads to a consideration not only of how organizations can use ‘rhetorical history’ as a strategic resource, but also how organizations are enabled and constrained by representations of the past. Finally, organization studies faces a challenge to deal with ‘history that matters’ - historiographically significant subjects, such as the organization and involvement of business in slavery, racism, and the Holocaust - as well as a theoretical approach to subjects of interest in their own right for organization studies, such as the history of the business school. 

4. AMR STF final selection

5. Themes for AMR STF introThe Matter of History: The Historic TurnMaclean, Harvey, & Clegg. 2016.Vaara, & Lamberg, J.-A. 2016. History MattersLippmann & Aldrich 2016.Mauskapf, Ocasio, & Steele 2016.History that MattersPalazzo, Schrempf-Stirling, & Phillips 2016Mena, Rintamaki, Fleming, & Spicer 2016

6. The “Historic Turn” in Organization Studies: publications pastKieser, A. 1994. Crossroads - Why organization theory needs historical analyses - and how these should be performed. Organization Science, 5(4)Zald, M. N. 1993. Organization studies as a scientific and humanistic enterprise - Toward a reconceptualization of the foundations of the field. Organization Science, 4(4)Rowlinson, M. & J. Hassard (1993) The Invention of Corporate Culture: A History of the Histories of Cadbury. Human Relations 46(3)Rowlinson, M. & S. Procter (1999) Organizational Culture and Business History. Organization Studies 20(3) Rowlinson, M. & C. Carter (2002) Foucault and History in Organization Studies. Organization 9(4) Clark, P. & Rowlinson, M. (2004) The Treatment of History in Organization Studies: Towards an “Historic Turn”? Business History 46(3)Booth, C., & Rowlinson, M. (2006) Management and Organizational History: Prospects. Management & Organizational History, 1(1). (Reprinted in McLaren et al. (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Management and Organizational History)

7. The “historic turn” in organization studies and the “organizational turn” in business historyDecker, S. 2013. The silence of the archives: business history, post-colonialism and archival ethnography. Management & Organizational History, 8(2).Bucheli, M., & Wadhwani, R. D. (Eds.). 2014. Organizations in Time: History, Theory, Methods. New York: Oxford University Press.Kipping, M., & Üsdiken, B. 2014. History in Organization and Management Theory: More Than Meets the Eye. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1).Greenwood, A., & Bernardi, A. 2014. Understanding the rift, the (still) uneasy bedfellows of History and Organization Studies. Organization, 21(6).Rowlinson, M., Hassard, J., & Decker, S. 2014. Research Strategies for Organizational History: A Dialogue between Historical Theory and Organization Theory. Academy of Management Review, 39(3).Decker, S., Kipping, M., & Wadhwani, R. D. 2015. New business histories! Plurality in business history research methods. Business History (online).McLaren, P., Mills, A.J. & Weatherbee, T. (eds) (2015) The Routledge Companion to Management and Organizational History.

8. The Historic Turn: Organizational History“Organizational history can be defined loosely as research and writing that combines history and organizational theorizing. This covers a wide spectrum ranging from research that is primarily historiographical, which could be referred to as history-with-theory, through to writing that is mainly theoretical, or theory-with-history.”Organizational History can be distinguished from:Business History – defined by the use of primary sources from organizational archivesManagement History – the history of management thought

9. The Historic Turn: contributions“dual integrity” (Maclean, Harvey, & Clegg. 2016):“historical organization studies,” in which “history is integral,” and “history and organization studies are of equal status.” historical organization studies that would be “deemed authentic within the realms of both organization studies and history.” Three complementary historical approaches to strategy practice and process research (Vaara & Lamberg):Realist; interpretative; and poststructuralist

10. History Matters: Perspectives on orgs in relation to historyPerspectives on orgs(Aldrich & Ruef 2006)Dialogue in Bucheli & Wadhwani (2014)exemplarsEcologicalCh 5 Lippmann & AldrichHistory and Evolutionary Theory8InstitutionalCh4 Suddaby, Foster & MillsHistorical Institutionalism 13InterpretiveCh6 Rowlinson & HassardHistory and the Cultural Turn in Org Studies10Organizational learningCh7 Fear Mining the Past: Historicizing Organizational Learning and ChangenoneResource dependenceNone (2 pages in index)noneTransaction cost economicsNone (1 page in index)none

11. Summary of exemplars sourceinstitutionalistevolutionaryinterpretiveK&Ü 2014totalAJS01011AMJ40105ASQ51056ASR01001ENTERPRISE & SOCIETY00101JMS00101JOURNAL OF BROADCASTING & ELECTRONIC MEDIA01001MOH00101ORG STUDIES10112SMJ02002Socio-Economic Review10001book11214book ch11305total13810831

12. Institutionalist exemplarsnoauthor abbrevSO abbrevyearK&Ü 20141Leblebici et alASQ1991Yes2Hargadon & DouglasASQ2001Yes3HoffmanAMJ1999No4Suddaby & GreenwoodASQ2005No5Maguire & HardyAMJ2009No6Arndt & BigelowASQ2005Yes7RojasAMJ2010No8HolmASQ1995Yes9SchneibergSocio-Economic Review2007No10Dobbinbook1997Yes11Cooper et alORG STUDIES1996No12Hirsch & Bermissbook ch2009No13Dacin et alAMJ2010No

13. Evolutionary exemplarsnoauthor abbrevSO abbrevyearK&Ü 20141Dobbinbook2009No2Pozner et albook ch2010No3JohnsonAJS2007Yes4Muehlfeld et alSMJ2012No5Ingram & LifshitzASR2006No6Joseph & OcasioSMJ2012No7LangtonASQ1984Yes8LippmannJOURNAL OF BROADCASTING & ELECTRONIC MEDIA2010No

14. Interpretive exemplarsnoauthor abbrevSO abbrevyearK&Ü 20141Lipartitobook ch2004No2Walkerbook ch2004No3Gutheybook ch2004No4Mayhewbook2009No5DeckerJMS2010No6Millsbook2006No7Durepos et alMOH2008No8Bruce & NylandORG STUDIES2011Yes9BojeAMJ1995No10HansenENTERPRISE & SOCIETY2007No

15. AMR STF perspectives and topicsPerspectiveTopicMaclean et alInstitutional entrepreneurshipHistorical org studiesVaara & LambergHistorical embeddednessStrategy research and practiceLippman & AldrichEvolutionaryEntrepreneurshipMauskapf et alInstitutional logicsCollective MemoryPalazzo et alCollective memoryCSRMena et alCollective memoryCSR

16. History Matters: contributions“pioneering entrepreneurs” are part of “entrepreneurial generational units” (Lippmann & Aldrich 2016):History matters through shared understanding of entrs derived from collective memory, or the same historical experiences within generational units.Organizational memory and institutional logics combined (Mauskapf, Ocasio, & Steele 2016):Historical model of societal logicsThe style and methods of propositions in org theory can be combined with historiographical concepts

17. History that MattersOrganization Studies faces the challenge of combining methodological rigor with managerial relevanceOrganizational History faces the related challenge of combining theory with “history that matters” either for wider historiographical debates or for individual, organizational or collective memories

18. Critique of org studies for neglecting the dark side of historyImplied critique from history focusing on the role of business in slaveryExplicit critique from CMS for the “denial of slavery in management studies” (Cooke 2003)

19. History that Matters: contributions“Historic CSR” (Palazzo, Schrempf-Stirling, & Phillips 2016):Represents an Historic Turn in CSR2X2 matrix of “narrative contests over the corporate past”Historical illustrations e.g. VW’s response to its Nazi past and involvement in forced laborThe concept of “forgetting work” (Mena, Rintamaki, Fleming, & Spicer 2016):Confronts the paradox that a once-and-for-all act of remembering can lead to forgetting later on

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