In spite of the rich contributions which it has made to recent scholarship, Business and Society research does not systematically address the organizational and managerial issues associated with corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies and policies. In the 1970s, this very conclusion prompted the Harvard Business School to launch a research program focused on Corporate Social Responsiveness, although the content of the program has since been forgotten and/or overly simplified. This article explores the program’s origins and content, assesses its contributions, and formulates hypotheses as to why the program was left behind. We contend that the Corporate Social Responsiveness program can assist with an analysis of the internal dynamics shaping how organizations institutionalize social and environmental issues.

L’ouvrage de Baum et Lampel souhaite rendre compte de l’émergence de perspectives de recherche alternatives au courant nord-américain considéré comme dominant dans le champ du management stratégique. Les éditeurs nous proposent en introduction un récit d’émergence du management stratégique étant entendu que ce récit définit ses contours (objets, méthodes appropriées) et permet par là d’assoir sa légitimité. Ce récit, qui voit dans la conférence de Pittsburgh de 1977 un des évènements fondateurs du champ, consacre la recherche nord-américaine, et, avec elle, une définition de la stratégie comme un processus séquentiel (formulationmise en oeuvre), objet devant être étudié au travers des canons de l’empiricisme logique. Ce sont cette définition pour le moins restreinte de la stratégie et l’accès en ligne de supports de publication européen (Organization Studies, Journal of Management Studies, notamment) qui permirent l’essor de courants de recherche contestataires. Cet essor se situant en dehors des frontières nord-américaines, les éditeurs n’hésitent pas à parler d’une ‘globalisation de la recherche en management stratégique’, et ce, en dépit de l’origine essentiellement européenne des contributeurs. Soulignant la variété des stratégies discursives employées par les auteurs réunis dans cet ouvrage pour justifier de la nécessité de perspectives alternatives, Baum et Lampel constatent une fragmentation du champ du management stratégique. Cette fragmentation nuirait au dialogue entre chercheurs, dialogue que l’ouvrage entendrait donc renouer.

Los conflictos de interés existentes entre los accionistas y la dirección de la empresa, puestos de manifiesto en la teoría de la agencia, se han hecho más visibles en los últimos años debido a la evidencia de algunos comportamientos poco éticos por parte de aquéllos que dirigen la organización, lo cual ha generado un clima de desconfianza entre todos los agentes relacionados con la empresa, principalmente accionistas e inversores. La recuperación de la confianza de los inversores se ha convertido en un objetivo prioritario para los organismos supervisores de los mercados financieros de todo el mundo, impulsando reformas legislativas que incorporan medidas legales para reforzar la transparencia informativa y la participación en las sociedades cotizadas. Las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones y, en especial Internet, están alterando el medio y los modelos de comunicación entre sociedades cotizadas e inversores, proporcionando información relevante de forma rápida y universal y ofreciendo nuevas vías para la gestión de la confianza en el ámbito del gobierno corporativo. En este trabajo se analizas las posibilidades de las nuevas tecnologías de la información para la construcción de confianza en las relaciones con los accionistas en general y con los pequeños en particular.

Les recherches sur les crises ont beaucoup étudié la prévention et la gestion des crises qui permettent à l’organisation d’absorber le choc et ainsi de faire preuve de résilience. Des travaux plus récents – et moins nombreux – se sont intéressés à la phase suivante que constitue l’apprentissage post-crise. Notre recherche prolonge ces travaux en étudiant les conséquences de la gestion de crise et de l’apprentissage post-crise sur l’impact et la gestion de la turbulence suivante. Pour cela, nous avons mené une étude longitudinale rétrospective de quatre processus de gestion de crise dans le secteur du tourisme, depuis le déclenchement de la crise jusqu’à la gestion de la turbulence suivante. Nos analyses montrent qu’une crise issue d’une turbulence de l’environnement peut renforcer la résilience de l’organisation par deux processus complémentaires liés : un apprentissage de renforcement positif au niveau de l’absorption du choc et un apprentissage double boucle incluant des changements stratégiques permettant de réduire la vulnérabilité de l’organisation.

Research on organizational crises has so far focused on prevention and on management, highlighting how businesses could absorb jolts and show resilience. More recently, a few studies have been devoted to post-crisis learning. In this article, we extend previous work by focusing on the consequences crisis management and learning have on the impact and management of the subsequent environmental jolt. To do so, we conducted a longitudinal retrospective analysis of four cases in the tourism industry, from the inception of the crisis up to the management of the subsequent environment jolt. Our analyses show that an organization can reinforce its resilience following an external crisis through two related processes: 1/ positive reinforcement learning at the time of impact absorption, and 2/ double loop learning including strategic change to reduce the vulnerability of the organization

Research findings showing the ubiquity of Pareto and ‘power-law’ distributions in the social and organisational worlds underlie increasing calls for complexity-driven ideas to be applied more frequently to organisational and management research. Power laws indicate well-formed Pareto distributions. Given that the world of business is, then, quite likely Paretian rather than Gaussian, phenomena in the long tails are often more important than worrying about the average. Consequently, how to modify strategic attention and what to tell managers? Basic ideas highlighting key differences between Gaussian and Paretian approaches are first reviewed. Then, five specific cases highlighting the managerial tails of Pareto distributions are discussed. These illustrate how overall managerial effectiveness is improved by managing the Pareto tails rather than relying on conventional wisdom to manage ‘average’ behaviour. Insights and effective strategies better tuned to Pareto-distributed managerial practice follow.

L’objet de cet article est d’évaluer l’impact des conditions initiales dans lesquelles évoluent les entreprises sur leur propension à coopérer et sur les caractéristiques de leurs alliés qu’elles jugent déterminantes. Plus précisément, l’enjeu est de mesurer l’influence de différentes di-mensions de la distance (culturelle, administrative, géographique, économique et technologique) sur le choix du pays des partenaires d’une coopération internationale en R&D. Fondé sur les apports de la littérature relative au management international et sur la grille d’analyse de la distance proposée par Ghemawat (2001), cet article développe plusieurs hypothèses relatives aux effets de l’éloignement, envisagé sous cinq de ses dimensions. Ces hypothèses sont testées sur un échantillon de 1.502 accords internationaux conclus par des entreprises européennes oeuvrant dans le secteur des biotechnologies. Les résultats de l’étude empirique montrent que la distance influence le choix du pays des partenaires, mais que son impact varie en fonc-tion de la dimension retenue et en fonction du contexte dans lequel est conclu l’accord. En particulier, ils révèlent que les distances administrative, géographique, économique et technologique jouent un rôle essentiel, alors que la distance culturelle n’influence pas significativement le choix du pays des partenaires, du moins dans le secteur des biotechnologies et lorsque les projets bénéficient de subventionnements.

Over the last few years, firms have involved their customers increasingly in different goods- and services-related processes (design, production, delivery, etc.). A corollary of this trend towards increasing integration of the customer has been new organizational choices aimed at generating higher margins, either by increasing revenues or by reducing costs. In other words, thinking about the ways in which the customer can and should be mobilized has mirrored fundamental changes in business models (BMs). However, the academic literature on the BM concept has remained relatively scarce so far (Demil & Lecocq, 2008). In particular, it seems that no study has thus far tackled the issue of customer participation in the BM. Customer participation has been the focus of much research in the field of services marketing and management. This literature considers the customer as an active player, going beyond traditional perspectives of the customer as a mere buyer Still, the customer’s impact on the firm’s ability to generate revenues, and thus on the firm’s BM, remains unknown. This paper aims to provide a theoretical framework for the way in which firms can and should integrate their customers into their BM. Combining BM and customer participation literatures, we develop a theoretical framework for what we label the “Customer-Integrated Business Model” (CIBM), a generic BM based on customer participation. Our model relies on the RCOV (Resources and Competences, Organization, Value Proposition) of Demil & Lecocq, 2010. In a CIBM, the customer is considered as a resource. This has significant consequences, both on the two other components (Value Proposition and Organization) and on the interrelations between the three parts of the model. We exemplify this theoretical framework with two case studies based on secondary data. We conclude by addressing the potential limitations of CIBM.

L’objet de cet article est d’évaluer l’impact des conditions initiales dans lesquelles évoluent les entreprises sur leur propension à coopérer et sur les caractéristiques de leurs alliés qu’elles jugent déterminantes. Plus précisément, l’enjeu est de mesurer l’influence de différentes di-mensions de la distance (culturelle, administrative, géographique, économique et technologique) sur le choix du pays des partenaires d’une coopération internationale en R&D. Fondé sur les apports de la littérature relative au management international et sur la grille d’analyse de la distance proposée par Ghemawat (2001), cet article développe plusieurs hypothèses relatives aux effets de l’éloignement, envisagé sous cinq de ses dimensions. Ces hypothèses sont testées sur un échantillon de 1.502 accords internationaux conclus par des entreprises européennes oeuvrant dans le secteur des biotechnologies. Les résultats de l’étude empirique montrent que la distance influence le choix du pays des partenaires, mais que son impact varie en fonc-tion de la dimension retenue et en fonction du contexte dans lequel est conclu l’accord. En particulier, ils révèlent que les distances administrative, géographique, économique et technologique jouent un rôle essentiel, alors que la distance culturelle n’influence pas significativement le choix du pays des partenaires, du moins dans le secteur des biotechnologies et lorsque les projets bénéficient de subventionnements.

Cet article présente la technique d'analyse de données des modèles linéaires hiérarchiques, qui permet de travailler sur des données multiniveaux de plus en plus fréquentes dans les recherches en management. Dans un premier temps, ses principes statistiques sont exposés ainsi que les principales décisions à prendre par l'utilisateur. Dans un second temps, un exemple d'application est commenté.

Cet article pédagogique présente l'utilisation des modèles linéaires hiérarchiques comme technique d'analyse de données collectées par policy capturing. Les principes généraux de la policy capturing sont présentés avant de s'intéresser plus en détail à l'analyse avec les modèles linéaires hiérarchiques des données ainsi collectées. L'article présente ainsi un exemple d'utilisation des modèles linéaires hiérarchiques présentés dans ce même numéro (voir Arrègle, J.-L. [2003], Les modèles linéaires hiérarchiques : 1.- principes et illustration, M@n@gement, 6[1]: 1-28).

Il est indéniable que les entreprises familiales possèdent des caractéristiques de gestion qui leurs sont propres, nées de l’imbrication de la famille et de l’entreprise. Il est aussi indéniable que les sources propres de compétitivité de ces entreprises manquent encore d’assises théoriques fortes. Dans ce papier, nous cherchons à renforcer ces assises, en recourant à la théorie du capital social, elle-même fondée sur l’approche par les ressources. Appliquée aux firmes familiales, cette théorie contribue à expliquer l’existence de sources particulières de compétitivité. Plus précisément, l’existence d’un capital social familial, qui a été démontrée dans les recherches passées sur la famille, influence la création et le développement d’un capital social propre à l’entreprise familiale, qui est lui-même source potentielle d’avantages pour la firme.

The papers that comprise this Special Issue represent a variety of attempts at exploring the potential contributions to careers scholarship that might emerge from applying concepts and models from the so-called "new sciences," a term widely used to denote a large area of enquiry in the physical and complexity sciences. This article introduces the special issue. It explains its origins, and defines the territory that it covers, specifically, the kinds of career on which the articles focus, the meaning of the term "new science," and the kind of connections that we believe can be made between the two. Finally, we briefly introduce each of the papers in the Special Issue.

We respond to the points raised by Baruch in his critique of our introduction. We believe the critique is helpful because it directs our attention to some important questions that need addressing when applying ideas from one branch of science to another. We argue that there is value in looking elsewhere for ideas, provided that it is done carefully and with rigour.

This paper reflects on the first author's attempts to adapt traditional social science methods to her own purpose. The research involved developing a methodology to explore the subjective career, concerned with people's internal, self-referential views of their unfolding career experiences. The paper describes a series of problems encountered along the way, stemming directly or indirectly from the rigidity of traditional science assumptions. In contrast, the authors find encouragement in contemporary ideas about "new science," and its imagery of a self-organizing, non-linear and interdependent world. The journey leads to philosopher Paul Cilliers' principles of complex social systems, which provide an alternative, and more affirming, platform for the kind of research undertaken.

This paper seeks to open up for discussion the emotional world of researchers in a manner that encourages and supports reflective practice. Drawing on the work of Clifford Geertz (1968) we focus on the irony inherent to research --elaborated via the concept of covertness-- whereby ethnographic researchers construct mutual fictions in their relationships with respondents, which obscure the authenticity and sincerity of the emotional exchange between researcher and researched. Specifically we discuss examples of interpersonal dynamics which generate uncomfortable emotions and identity work on the part of researchers. Ultimately, we advance understanding of how emotions and identity work influence the collection and interpretation of data. The methodological implications for conducting ethnographic research are discussed.

This article establishes a framework to describe the firm’s strategic formation process when considering Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Following Martinet and Reynaud (2004), we consider corporate strategy as a continuous “game” between financial and sustainable axis within the business context. We posit that the firm’s strategic formation process involves both vertical dimensions (e.g., corporate, business and operational) and horizontal ones (i.e., from shareholders’ orientation to stakeholders’ perspectives).
We then present some theoretical characteristics for each element of these dimensions relating to the financial and sustainable axis and go on to demonstrate the dynamic nature of CSR strategies.

This paper critically examines the neglected importance of employee conformity in organisations. More specifically, it addresses the ways in which coercive persuasion can manufacture conformity through contemporary leadership processes and corporate culture practices. Drawing on the foundational work of Schein (1961), we illustrate how the nine techniques of coercive persuasion that he identified can serve as a framework for understanding the exercise of power and the manufacture of conformity in modern organisations. In particular, we discuss this framework in relation to the phenomenon of ‘corporate culturalism’ (in which powerful leaders determine constraining norms and values for others, in the form of compelling ideologies). We argue that ideology, when embraced with sufficient vigour, can function as an invisible internal eye, ensuring that subjects themselves become the instruments of their own subjugation. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of coercive persuasion in organisational discourse.

While admiring the plausible attempt of developing career theory further, via New Science ideas and framework, I argue that career theory should first start with establishing a career theory based on the behavioral and management sciences. I suggest caution when transforming ideas that may fit minerals and plants into the realm of human thinking, feeling, and behaving.In particular, career theory should reflect the changing nature of socio-economic systems and work environments, and these may not be best reflected in New Science concepts.

In recent years companies have begun to implement a series of human resource management (HRM) practices that are referred to in the literature as high-performance or high-commitment. Among others these practices include employee involvement, training and organisational incentive plans. In this study we attempt to determine how and to what extent the adoption of this type of practices affects the firm's performance record. We focus specifically on the impact HRM has on operational performance. Moreover, we test if the impact of high-commitment practices on firm performance is contingent on the strategy followed by the firm. We try to detect possible differences in the relationship between HRM and the different kinds of operational results (efficiency, quality, and time). For this aim we use a database covering an initial sample of 965 factories each with a workforce of over 50 employees. We begin with a review of the literature before going on to present the descriptive statistics for the variables to be used and, finally, testing the relationship between HRM and operational performance through the estimation of several ordered probit models. Our results reveal the presence of a positive, statistically significant correlation between the adoption of high-commitment practices and improvements in quality and time-based performance. We also find that this effect is universal and not dependent on the strategy used by the firm.

This article aims to convey the promise and potential of visual methods in organizational research. It begins by reviewing the status of visual research in the social sciences in order to explore its potential contribution to organizational research, distinguishing four categories of visual data used by organizational analysts. Using examples from our own ongoing research, we argue that the collection and analysis of visual images has the potential to enhance organizational research by encouraging a focus on aspects of organizational culture that are less easily captured through the collection and analysis of written or spoken words alone. We review the challenges posed by use of visual methods, including issues of access, ethics and copyright law and the importance of theoretical perspective in informing data analysis. Finally, we argue that visual methods have the potential to enable development of a more reflexive approach to organizational research, using examples from our own research to illustrate how this can be developed.

Cet article étudie le travail institutionnel discursif des acteurs dans leur tentative d’influencer les institutions en place. Le changement institutionnel est souvent décrit comme une lutte interprétative dans laquelle les acteurs se disputent le sens de la réalité. Le travail institutionnel discursif repose sur l’utilisation du discours et permet aux acteurs d’influencer et d’agir sur les institutions. Nous utilisons dans cet article une grille d’analyse des luttes interprétatives inspirée de Hardy et Maguire (2008). Ces auteurs pointent trois leviers d’influence de l’environnement : les justifications, les relations sociales et les ressources. A partir du cas du déploiement de la télévision numérique terrestre en France nous montrons que les acteurs mettent en oeuvre un travail institutionnel discursif en configurant, selon plusieurs scénarios, des justifications, des ressources et des relations sociales. A un premier niveau, cet article contribue à la théorie néo institutionnelle en présentant une typologie de quatre types de travail institutionnel discursif que les acteurs peuvent utiliser afin de façonner les institutions en leur faveur. Il s’agit de créer, de contrer, de déplacer et de détourner des opportunités de changement institutionnel. A un deuxième niveau nous montrons que les acteurs font évoluer leur travail institutionnel discursif durant le processus de changement institutionnel. Cela nous a amené à formuler une seconde contribution qui met l’accent sur le caractère émergent du travail institutionnel discursif des acteurs et sur leur aptitude à la créativité dans le déploiement de leurs stratégies.

L'objectif principal de l'action stratégique consiste en la création et en la préservation dans le temps de l'avantage concurrentiel. Cet article estime que cet objectif peut être atteint par l'engagement des seules actions n'entraînant pas de réactions. Quatre caractéristiques liées aux actions (irréversibilité, spécificité, innovation et intensité) et trois caractéristiques associées aux réactions (occurrence, imitation et délai) sont testées dans le secteur de la presse magazine en France (presse "news" et presse économique). Les résultats montrent que les actions irréversibles, innovantes et intenses provoquent beaucoup de réactions, alors que les actions spécifiques n'entraînent que peu de réponses. Ce qui émerge, cependant, est l'importance du délai de réaction, permettant aux firmes de se soustraire, pour un temps, à la concurrence.

Si les clusters se caractérisent par des pratiques partenariales vecteurs d’une forte compétitivité, certains d’entre eux rencontrent des difficultés de coordination liées à des conflits d’appropriation des bénéfices collectifs. C’est tout particulièrement le cas des bioclusters du fait de leurs particularités sectorielles et des politiques publiques à l’oeuvre. Partant d’une analyse des conflits en jeu dans un biocluster, cet article vise à saisir comment émergent et co-évoluent les stratégies des firmes et des institutions en proie à des intérêts divergents. Selon une perspective évolutionnaire, nous proposons une simulation exploratoire permettant une analyse des dynamiques d’adaptation mutuelle de ces agents. Les résultats montrent d’une part que les firmes modulent leurs stratégies de négociation en fonction de l’incertitude et de la perception qu’elles ont des gains susceptibles d’être générés collectivement, d’autre part que les collectivités territoriales jouent un rôle régulateur. Cette recherche contribue à la compréhension des modalités de management public de la coopération et de l’innovation dans les bioclusters.

The papers that comprise this Special Issue represent a variety of attempts at exploring the potential contributions to careers scholarship that might emerge from applying concepts and models from the so-called "new sciences," a term widely used to denote a large area of enquiry in the physical and complexity sciences. This article introduces the special issue. It explains its origins, and defines the territory that it covers, specifically, the kinds of career on which the articles focus, the meaning of the term "new science," and the kind of connections that we believe can be made between the two. Finally, we briefly introduce each of the papers in the Special Issue.

We respond to the points raised by Baruch in his critique of our introduction. We believe the critique is helpful because it directs our attention to some important questions that need addressing when applying ideas from one branch of science to another. We argue that there is value in looking elsewhere for ideas, provided that it is done carefully and with rigour.

El presente trabajo muestra la idoneidad de la aplicación del Modelo de Gestión de Calidad Total como un enfoque que permite dotar a las decisiones adoptadas por la dirección de la empresa no sólo de eficacia, eficiencia y creación de valor económico, sino también de un comportamiento ético y socialmente responsable. Este modelo perfila la empresa como un conjunto de grupos de interés, integrado por clientes, trabajadores, proveedores, sociedad y capital, orientando la actuación global de la compañía hacia la satisfacción de las necesidades de todos y cada uno de los grupos. Empleando este marco de análisis, se estudia el caso de Mercadona, empresa española del sector de distribución comercial, que ha hecho compatible el desarrollo de un extraordinario modelo económico de crecimiento y desarrollo con la consecución de unos niveles de comportamiento ético y de responsabilidad social sobresalientes, los cuales han sido así reconocidos y valorados tanto a nivel nacional como internacional.

In the 80's, globalisation was much vaunted as offering the Western world a dazzling new array of business opportunities. In the 90's, however, the negative impact on the labour market has become all too evident. A look at Germany's labour statistics shows a frightening picture of massive job destruction in the wake of globalisation. As firms contend with heightened international competition and incomparably low wages in the former Eastern bloc and Asia, they have turned almost ubiquitously to cost-cutting through shedding labour inside Germany itself. Jobs either disappear altogether or are relocated. Through computerisation, strategic alliances, lean production and so on, the process of rationalisation and wage reduction proceeds at an alarming pace. In addition to the problems caused by globalisation, there are also serious issues with respect to German management, which are unquestionably major contributory factors to the country's current difficulties, especially mass unemployment. The second part of the paper considers a variety of issues in this context including the rampant and socially destructive preoccupation with cost cutting and rationalisation, negative managerial behaviour and lack of innovation. If Germany is to prevent serious economic decline, the problems need to be tackled on several fronts simultaneously. Attitudinal changes on the part of both management and workers, a modified taxation regime, better public relations about Germany as an industrial location and various other strategies offer some hope to a country that is clearly undergoing a globalisation crisis. There are certainly some viable alternatives to downsizing and a look at the strategies used by other industrial countries gives further insight into positive solutions.

Questo lavoro utilizza la teoria del capitale sociale per comprendere le peculiarità del processo di acquisizione della conoscenza sui mercati esteri da parte delle start-ups. L'ipotesi sostenuta e' che lo sviluppo del capitale sociale nelle relazioni di business estere può favorire l'acquisizione di conoscenza che, a sua volta, accelera la crescita estera di tali imprese. Il campione analizzato include 112 start-ups italiane ad alta tecnologia, mentre l'unità di osservazione sono le relazioni diadiche da essi intraprese con il proprio cliente estero più importante. I risultati ottenuti confermano l'ipotesi che l'acquisizione di conoscenza risente del tipo di relazioni sociali instaurate con i clienti esteri più importanti, sia in modo positivo che negativo, a seconda della specifica dimensione del capitale sociale coinvolta.

Cet article s’interroge sur les croyances et attitudes des étudiants vis-à-vis de l’entrepreneuriat et sur la façon dont elles peuvent agir sur leur intention de se lancer dans ce type d’activité après leurs études. Le but est d’obtenir des pistes sur le type de contenu à donner aux formations dans le contexte de mise en oeuvre des maisons de l’entrepreneuriat. Au plan théorique, cette recherche s’appuie sur la théorie du comportement planifié ; l’intention de créer une entreprise est supposée dépendre de trois éléments : l’attrait perçu de la création d’entreprise ; le degré d’incitation à entreprendre perçu dans l’environnement social ; la confiance qu’a l’individu en sa capacité de mener à bien le processus entrepreneurial.
Ce modèle est testé sur 655 étudiants grenoblois. Les résultats confirment le pouvoir explicatif de la théorie du comportement planifié. Ils contribuent également à enrichir cette théorie en identifiant un effet modérateur : l’impact de la capacité perçue sur l’intention n’est pas le même selon que l’étudiant est proche ou éloigné dans le temps d’une entrée sur le marché du travail.
Une deuxième série de régressions permet d’identifier les types d’attentes professionnelles qui expliquent le plus l’attrait des étudiants pour la création et les tâches critiques pour réussir une création d’entreprise qui ont la plus grande influence sur le sentiment qu’a l’étudiant d’être capable de créer à l’issue de ses études.

La pyramide des âges des dirigeants français (« papy boom ») nécessite le développement de la transmission des Petites et des Moyennes Entreprises (PME), tant par des reprises d’entreprises liées à des personnes physiques que par des opérations de croissance externe déclenchées par des entreprises.
Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de cet article est de mieux comprendre la genèse du projet de rachat d’entreprises chez les dirigeants français. Les modèles mentaux développés lors de cette phase ont un impact majeur dans la suite du processus. A la croisée de différentes théories ancrées dans le champ de la cognition entrepreneuriale, l’article propose une modélisation du processus de constitution des modèles mentaux développés par les dirigeants à propos du rachat d’entreprises. Une étude empirique est réalisée auprès des membres du réseau du Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants. Les 245 réponses obtenues conduisent à élaborer une classification qui fournit une représentation des modèles mentaux développés par les dirigeants en matière de rachat d’entreprises. Certains liens sont ensuite mis en lumière entre ces différents modèles mentaux et les intentions et comportements des dirigeants s’agissant du rachat d’entreprises.

With the retirement of the baby boomers, much work is needed to promote the transfer of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in France, whether through acquisitions by a natural person or by a company.
The purpose of this research is to understand the genesis of the small business acquisition process among French managers. The research is based on the assumption that the mental models developed at this stage of the process have a major impact on subsequent stages. This paper draws on several theories rooted in the field of entrepreneurial cognition to propose a model of how managers form mental models of small business acquisition. It presents the results of an empirical study conducted among members of the network of the Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants (Center for Young Managers). First, based on the 245 responses received, this article introduces a classification of managers’ mental models of small business acquisition. Second, our research examines various relationships between the managers’ mental models and their intentions and behaviors in the area of small business acquisition.

We went to Las Vegas and deconstructed everything. The purpose of our deconstruction was more than critique, we see deconstruction as something that happens to Las Vegas, and we also think it is always reconstructing. As an introduction to our special issue, I seek to provide some background into deconstruction as a artful analysis, and as a process that happens all around us.

I contrast Barthes' and Debord's theories of striptease and spectacle by tracing the alternative "striptease" narrative in several competing texts in cyberspace and in novels. I look at how the striptease becomes narrated as part of the Las Vegas spectacle, legitimating commerce and consumption, but also a rags-to-riches storyline. I begin by analyzing the possession of the body by commerce and consumption, and end by suggesting that stripers cross the boundary between life on the "Strip" and in community.

La plupart des chercheurs s’accordent sur le fait que l’émotion est une caractéristique essentielle de la prise de décision intuitive (PDI), mais rares sont ceux qui ont étudié le phénomène de façon empirique. De ce fait, on ne sait pas précisément comment l’émotion interagit avec le processus de prise de décision. Cet article se propose de commencer à élucider le rôle de l’émotion dans la PDI par une étude empirique de type exploratoire portant sur les réalisateurs de cinéma en période de tournage. Les résultats de l’étude montrent que la PDI peut être influencée par trois types d’émotions : les émotions liées à une expertise sur la décision à prendre, les émotions liées à une expérience émotionnelle antérieure sans lien direct avec la décision, ou les émotions spontanées sans lien avec une expertise ou une expérience passée. Nous explicitons aussi les conditions d’élaboration d’une prise de décision rationnelle (PDR) ainsi que de la délégation de la prise de décision (DPD) qui remplacent parfois, et dans des circonstances bien précises, le processus de prise de décision intuitive. Nous concluons cet article en évoquant les implications tant managériales que théoriques des résultats de cette étude.

While most researchers agree that emotions play an important role in the process of intuitive decision-making (IDM), few have investigated that role empirically. This article aims at filling that gap by investigating the role of emotion in IDM through an exploratory study of movie directors in the field. The data suggests that three types of emotions can influence IDM: emotions related to expertise, emotions related to a non-task relevant experience, or spontaneous emotions that are unrelated to either expertise or past experiences. Our data also suggests the conditions under which IDM is replaced by rational decision making (RDM), or the delegation of decision making (DDM). We derive theoretical and managerial implications based on our findings.

A number of studies have found that the performance of NPD projects greatly depends on the support they get from top management. However, research into why some projects get more support than others has been limited. The present paper takes a political approach to NPD, in which top management support is considered to be a function of a project leader’s ability to influence decision processes through personal relationships. Mobilizing the bridging perspective of social capital, we argue that project leaders need both strong ties to high-ranking others and sparseness in their networks. Vertical strong ties bring direct support and solidarity, resulting in improved access to resources and priority over other projects; sparseness provides exposure to the full range of information and interpretations in the organization, resulting in a more accurate picture of the political landscape and thus enabling the implementation of an appropriate influence strategy. A PLS analysis of a sample of 73 French project leaders involved in NPD projects provided support for our hypotheses. Hence, we contribute to a very recent stream of research showing that the structural and relational dimensions of social capital are complementary.

As the members of an organizational field adopt similar practices, considerable variation in enactment can ensue. Field-level theories, however, do not yet explain how and why organizations vary in their use of standard practices. To tackle this issue, we focus on the infiltration of managerial practices into a sector traditionally motivated by norms of charity, using data drawn from a random sample of 200 nonprofit organizations. We first carry out an inductive content analysis of interviews with executive directors (EDs) about their use of strategic planning, which reveals three main rationales for adoption— associational, managerial, and opportunistic—and two outcomes—symbolic adoption and symbolic implementation. We then use Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to consider which combinations of organizational attributes and rationales are associated with the outcomes of decoupling or routinization. Our study shows creative yet patterned possibilities in the uses of a standard practice, with both adoption and implementation taking on symbolic meaning. The findings afford a deeper understanding of how multiple forms of decoupling can be used to understand micro-processes of variation, extending research on divergent outcomes of field-wide isomorphic pressures.

Les pratiques partenariales, via le recours à la coopération et à la coordination de plusieurs partenaires, doivent permettre d’optimiser le processus de création de valeur de l’entreprise. Pourtant, malgré leur popularité et les avantages nombreux qui leur sont traditionnellement reconnus, elles amènent des niveaux de performance hétérogènes. Pour mieux comprendre ce phénomène, je me focalise dans cet article sur l’impact de l’expérience sur le fonctionnement des relations de partenariat logistiques et in fine sur leur réussite. En mobilisant la théorie de l’apprentissage organisationnel, j’explore plus précisément trois composantes de cette expérience: l’expérience des partenariats passés ou simultanés, la succession d’expériences de coopération menées avec un même partenaire, et la connaissance approfondie de ce partenaire. Sur la base de 219 questionnaires adressés à des entreprises de l’industrie agro-alimentaire, on observe l’impact positif de l’expérience de la gestion des partenariats, de l’expérience du travail en commun et de la connivence interpersonnelle. En revanche, l’ancienneté et la profondeur des relations semblent influer négativement sur la réussite du partenariat.

Résumé : Cet article a pour objectif de comprendre comment des étudiants salariés gèrent l’articulation entre les sphères professionnelles et scolaires. Se fondant sur une enquête par questionnaire auprès de 303 étudiants salariés français, il montre que les stratégies d’ajustement mises en oeuvre pour faire face au stress né du conflit de rôle travail/école se révèlent dans l’ensemble efficaces, à l’exception de l’auto-accusation et de la répression cognitive. Au-delà, un enchaînement négatif émerge : il lie le conflit travail/école au stress et à l’intention de quitter. Dépassant les schémas explicatifs unidimensionnels, qui valorisent un étudiant contraint ou acteur de son développement professionnel, cette recherche suggère une réaction au conflit de rôles contingent en articulant ajustement de confrontation et gestion de l’émotion.

Abstract : This article aims to shed light on the ways in which working students marry their work and school activities. On the basis of questionnaire responses garnered from 303 working French students, it shows that coping strategies implemented to deal with the stress which arises from the work-school conflict are generally effective, with the exceptions of self-accusation and cognitive repression. Furthermore, a negative relationship between work-school conflict, stress and turnover intention emerges. This study goes beyond mere one-dimensional illustrations which portray students as being under pressure or taking action to foster their own professional development, and instead suggests a combined response to role conflict which involves both confronting the conflict and managing emotions.

Since ethnography has been recognized as a proper method for organizational analysis, many textbooks and articles have acknowledged its characteristics and specificities and sought to account for them. Curiously, many of these works have not considered (or have explicitly avoided) one important issue concerning organizational ethnography, namely the negotiation of access to the field. Drawing on a one-year organizational ethnography on the production and reproduction of inequalities in accessing health services in Italy, this paper focuses on the organizational and ethnographical dynamics involved in accessing the field. In particular, it shows that the negotiation of access may per se be an important moment of observation in that it reveals some of the principal characteristics of the organizational processes that the ethnographer is about to study. Moreover, drawing on ethnographic observations, the paper shows that there are no substantial reasons for assuming that negotiating access to the field takes place in a dimension unconnected with the actors' everyday logics and practices of action. Accessing the field is thus framed as a trajectory, a never-ending process of engaging with multiple actors and organizational dynamics which can lead in different directions, depending on the ethnographer's ability to follow organizational processes and to demonstrate his/her ability to take part in them.

Data from a cross-industry sample confirm the effects of different organizational structures on dynamic capabilities in alliance settings. Our work integrates the literatures pertinent to organizational structure and the learning and creativity processes that characterize dynamic capabilities in alliances. Our results suggest that centralized structures in alliances hinder creativity and learning, and that formalization impedes learning in alliances. Supporting the arguments put forward by authors such as Burns and Stalker (1961), our results suggest that mechanistic structures in alliance teams hinder the development of dynamic capabilities, whereas organic structures are more conducive in these interorganizational settings.

Los conflictos de interés existentes entre los accionistas y la dirección de la empresa, puestos de manifiesto en la teoría de la agencia, se han hecho más visibles en los últimos años debido a la evidencia de algunos comportamientos poco éticos por parte de aquéllos que dirigen la organización, lo cual ha generado un clima de desconfianza entre todos los agentes relacionados con la empresa, principalmente accionistas e inversores. La recuperación de la confianza de los inversores se ha convertido en un objetivo prioritario para los organismos supervisores de los mercados financieros de todo el mundo, impulsando reformas legislativas que incorporan medidas legales para reforzar la transparencia informativa y la participación en las sociedades cotizadas. Las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones y, en especial Internet, están alterando el medio y los modelos de comunicación entre sociedades cotizadas e inversores, proporcionando información relevante de forma rápida y universal y ofreciendo nuevas vías para la gestión de la confianza en el ámbito del gobierno corporativo. En este trabajo se analizas las posibilidades de las nuevas tecnologías de la información para la construcción de confianza en las relaciones con los accionistas en general y con los pequeños en particular.

During the last years, a consensus is emerging that to survive in the competitive turbulence that is engulfing a growing number of industries, firms will need to pinpoint innovative practices rapidly, to communicate them to their suppliers and to stimulate further innovation. In order to be competitive, companies are forced to adopt less hierarchical and more flexible structures, and to define strategies able to combine reduced costs, high quality, flexibility and a quick answer to customer requirements. Nowadays, there are very few companies with enough resources to form its value chain on their own. Therefore, some changes are taking place within individual companies and in their relations with other organizations, creating new structures in which relationships between customers and suppliers are suffering considerable changes. One of these changes is concerned with the formation of networks in which there is a division of labour that allows each company to exploit their distinctive advantages, and be more competitive globally. In a network model, a set of juridically independent companies establish cooperative long term links in order to achieve a higher level of competitiveness. The enterprises that belong to a network have not all the elements needed for manufacturing a product or providing a service under their absolute control. Therefore, the success of this kind of structures is conditioned by the coordination degree obtained along the realization of inter-organizational activities, which requires an efficient communication system among the partners. The Information Technology (IT) represents a supportive element that facilitates the transfer of information across organizational boundaries. In this paper we analyze the inclusion of the Interorganizational Information Systems (IOS) concept within the network model and discuss the role IT plays in enabling organizational transformation towards emergent forms of organization.

The present study provides a conceptualization of the business model construct from which a multi-dimensional evaluation tool is developed that provides the basis for drawing up a taxonomy and analysing its comparative efficacy. The empirical data was obtained from a sampling of 159 Spanish business organisations. The cluster analysis revealed the existence of four business models that were designated as “multidivisional”, “integrated”, “hybrid” and “network”. The results also indicate that the adoption of a certain business model is not enough to attain superior performance, highlighting the need to consider other contingent factors.

Recent literature on open innovation suggests that firms can improve their performance by “opening” their business models, in other words, they can reduce their R&D costs by incorporating external knowledge. This implies that firms will be able to capture value through knowledge produced outside the organization. This, however, presents a number of difficulties notably where the knowledge produced is the result of collective creativity carried out by communities of peers. Here, tension can arise when some of the business actors involved take, or attempt to obtain, financial benefit from part of the value created by the online communities. The purpose of this article is to address the following research question: what are the main strategic difficulties encountered by firms whose business models rely on public web communities to create value? Our study used a collaborative research approach, and our empirical data is based on the longitudinal strategic analysis of a web start-up, CrowdSpirit, a collaborative web-based platform which enables communities to imagine and design innovative products. Our research highlights three main points that need to be addressed in further research on open business models. First, we highlight the fact that the ‘openness’ of the business model to online communities leads to the development of a multi-level incentive model adapted to the different profiles of the various contributors. Second, we suggest that crowdsourcing platforms act as intermediaries in multi-sided markets and, as such, are at the core of a knowledge-sharing and IP transfer process between multiple actors. Finally, we suggest that the business model design and development can be considered as an ongoing learning process.

A reading of Las Vegas is provided in this paper using an optic of critical theory and the heuristic power of Homer's tale of Odysseus and his crew's encounter with the sea creatures called the Sirens. This analysis reveals Las Vegas to be a city remade for visual consumption where the streetscape becomes a fantascape and the arts that are on display are amusement goods--patterned and predigested products for consumption. This paper also argues that the present glitz, glitter and newness of Las Vegas appears all the more meaningful in the light of the archaic. The juxtaposition affords us an opportunity to see ourselves in spite of ourselves, or to be decentered from our historical position of privilege.

In 1978, Lefty Rosenthal--a former Chicago bookmaker--became Director of Entertainment at the Stardust Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Roemer (1994: 111), in his book about Vegas, says, "Lefty had traveled a road paved with controversy and dispute. I guess you could say Lefty was representative of Las Vegas". What makes the Rosenthal story interesting and relevant to organizational theory? We intend to analyze whether Lefty is "representative" of Las Vegas, and in doing so, we examine the issue of representation. Specifically, we analyze the story, as told by Roemer (1994) and Pileggi (1995), from a historical point of view and, then, from a Jungian archetypal point of view. However, we would like to be somewhat post-Jungian, and following the Anti-Oedipus of Deleuze and Guattari (1977), we will put forward a revised Jungian account for the material genealogy of Las Vegas. We conclude the paper by commenting upon the "demise of representation" (Knights, 1997) and its implications for organizational theory.

L’objectif de cet article est de montrer que les entreprises optent pour l’agglomération temporelle (en entrant sur un marché au même moment que leurs concurrents) lorsque l’incertitude concernant le succès de leurs produits est particulièrement importante. En effet, l’analyse des majors hollywoodiennes de 2000 à 2006 montre que ces entreprises limitent l’incertitude en adoptant des comportements similaires. Plus précisément, les résultats montrent que c’est une combinaison de facteurs qui conduit à l’agglomération des dates de sorties de films. Les budgets, les genres et la présence d’institutions temporelles (jours fériés, cérémonies, festivals, etc.) sont, en effet, utilisés comme des points de référence par les acteurs de l’industrie. Au final, plus qu’une stratégie délibérée, l’agglomération temporelle semble émerger d’interactions complexes, augmentant la compétition et réduisant ainsi la performance des films.

The current article considers the importance of the links existing between social relations and relations of trust, on the one hand, and economic and business relations on the other, in networks of firms, particularly networks of small firms that have formed involuntarily. Among these links, it is important to discover the way tacit and explicit information flows are established within the network and the conditions for them to occur. We examine these questions in a network of firms from the shoe industry using the methods and concepts of social network analysis. With this in mind, we have analysed the complex network of small firms by breaking it down into subnetworks in order to better understand its general structure. Our findings show that economic relations (cooperation, commercial exchanges) and social relations (trust, friendship, kinship, information interchanges) between the firms in the network are embedded within each other. The firms of the network exchange tacit information only with those firms with which they maintain stronger social and business links. Information and knowledge are treated as a strategic resource that is only shared with those companies that are not direct competitors.

La réutilisation des données qualitatives (RDQ) est une méthodologie assez peu mobilisée en sciences de gestion. Cet article s'interroge sur le statut, la légitimité, les potentialités et les limites qu'elle peut y avoir. Après avoir examiné la place accordée à la RDQ au sein des méthodes en sciences de gestion, nous procéderons à sa délimitation et au repérage de la variété de ses formes, nous précisons les questions épistémologiques soulevées avant d'envisager les conditions de son utilisation.

This paper questions the persistent prescription, which has now also received a fillip from "new science", for corporations to be more like organisms, especially in response to turbulence in the business environment such as exists in present times. We contend that another outcome of the prevailing turbulence, the trend towards the organizational career being outmoded, is particularly ironic because the organizational career, we argue, has been the organizing device that helps corporations become organism-like and more. It has done so in three significant ways: in developing the capacity to outlive their constituent individuals, just as multi-cellular organisms outlive their cells; in developing purposefulness-- the capacity to choose and set goals of one's own accord; and in developing even higher flexibility than organisms. Finally, alluding to misgivings about prospective organism-like physical artifacts, the paper suggests deeper studies on the social artifact, the corporation, as being already too organism-like.

This paper questions the persistent prescription, which has now also received a fillip from "new science", for corporations to be more like organisms, especially in response to turbulence in the business environment such as exists in present times. We contend that another outcome of the prevailing turbulence, the trend towards the organizational career being outmoded, is particularly ironic because the organizational career, we argue, has been the organizing device that helps corporations become organism-like and more. It has done so in three significant ways: in developing the capacity to outlive their constituent individuals, just as multi-cellular organisms outlive their cells; in developing purposefulness-- the capacity to choose and set goals of one's own accord; and in developing even higher flexibility than organisms. Finally, alluding to misgivings about prospective organism-like physical artifacts, the paper suggests deeper studies on the social artifact, the corporation, as being already too organism-like.

This paper documents the downsizing experience in China since 1954 to 1998. Over years, China's reform initiatives on the central government have been changed. They were attempts in adjusting the extent of functional integration or differentiation of the state organs of the central government in relation to the remainder of the body politic. Post-Mao administrative reforms were taken to deal mainly with the problem of political erosion of administrative authority, thus facilitating the state to recover its administrative functions. Although western countries look for ways to shrink the state in order to integrate the state with politics, China seeks to institutionalize the state so as to suppress politics. Charting the course of administrative reforms in China requires an understanding that China's transformational experience is institutionally associated with the character of the regime.

Cet article présente la théorie des communautés de pratique et de l'apprentissage développée par Etienne Wenger dans son ouvrage Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. L'ouvrage défend une perspective sociale de l'apprentissage, inséré dans les pratiques collectives au sein des communautés de pratique. Il offre une grille de lecture originale des phénomènes d'apprentissage collectif, de création de significations et d'identité. L'article propose dans un premier temps une synthèse des apports théoriques de l'ouvrage de Wenger centrés sur le concept de communauté de pratique et ses liens théoriques avec l'apprentissage collectif. Il présente ensuite les parties de l'ouvrage traitant de la conception d'architectures d'apprentissage dans des organisations considérées comme des constellations de communautés de pratique interconnectées. Pour terminer, nous cherchons à appliquer le dispositif conceptuel de Wenger au management par projet afin d'en discuter à la fois les apports et les limites dans ce contexte précis. Il apparaît que la théorie des communautés de pratique fournit des concepts utiles pour interpréter certaines tensions inhérentes au management par projet. En revanche, l'assimilation de la notion de projet à celle de pratique pose des difficultés d'ordre théorique. La confrontation de ces deux concepts ouvre une réflexion sur un enrichissement mutuel entre la théorie des communautés de pratique et les travaux sur le management par projet.

Recent literature on open innovation suggests that firms can improve their performance by “opening” their business models, in other words, they can reduce their R&D costs by incorporating external knowledge. This implies that firms will be able to capture value through knowledge produced outside the organization. This, however, presents a number of difficulties notably where the knowledge produced is the result of collective creativity carried out by communities of peers. Here, tension can arise when some of the business actors involved take, or attempt to obtain, financial benefit from part of the value created by the online communities. The purpose of this article is to address the following research question: what are the main strategic difficulties encountered by firms whose business models rely on public web communities to create value? Our study used a collaborative research approach, and our empirical data is based on the longitudinal strategic analysis of a web start-up, CrowdSpirit, a collaborative web-based platform which enables communities to imagine and design innovative products. Our research highlights three main points that need to be addressed in further research on open business models. First, we highlight the fact that the ‘openness’ of the business model to online communities leads to the development of a multi-level incentive model adapted to the different profiles of the various contributors. Second, we suggest that crowdsourcing platforms act as intermediaries in multi-sided markets and, as such, are at the core of a knowledge-sharing and IP transfer process between multiple actors. Finally, we suggest that the business model design and development can be considered as an ongoing learning process.

Cet article s’intéresse à l’agilité organisationnelle, un concept en phase avec les problématiques rencontrées par les organisations faisant face à un environnement complexe, incertain et turbulent. Définie comme une capacité de reconfiguration organisationnelle permettant d’exploiter les opportunités offertes par le changement, l’agilité fait l’objet d’un véritable engouement alors même qu’il n’existe pas d’instrument de mesure susceptible de rendre compte de la multidimensionnalité et de la complexité de cette capacité organisationnelle. A partir d’une étude qualitative et quantitative, ce papier présente et discute les résultats de la phase exploratoire et confirmatoire du développement d’une échelle de mesure de l’agilité organisationnelle, qui bénéficie, à ce stade de développement, de qualités psychométriques satisfaisantes.

Le whistleblowing peut être défini « comme le fait, pour un membre d'une organisation (ancien ou actuel), de révéler l'existence de pratiques illégales, immorales ou illégitimes dont l'employeur a la maîtrise, à une personne ou à un organisme susceptible de remédier à la situation » (Near et Miceli, 1985). La mise en place du whistleblowing, dont nous verrons qu'il devient "alerte éthique" en France, vise à restaurer la confiance des investisseurs, en renforçant la fiabilité de l'information financière et en améliorant la responsabilité des gestionnaires. Que se passe-t-il lorsqu'une pratique de contrôle interne américaine (whistleblowing) est déployée au sein d'entreprises françaises cotées aux Etats-Unis ou au sein de filiales d'entreprises américaines établies en France ? Cet article tente de répondre à cette question en analysant le déploiement de cette pratique qui nous vient d'outre-Atlantique (volet de la loi Sarbanes-Oxley, 2002). Cette recherche est qualitative et exploratoire. Elle propose l'identification de trois enjeux managériaux et interroge deux vecteurs susceptibles d'infléchir les pratiques de gouvernement d'entreprise dans les pratiques de contrôle interne.

A number of studies have found that the performance of NPD projects greatly depends on the support they get from top management. However, research into why some projects get more support than others has been limited. The present paper takes a political approach to NPD, in which top management support is considered to be a function of a project leader’s ability to influence decision processes through personal relationships. Mobilizing the bridging perspective of social capital, we argue that project leaders need both strong ties to high-ranking others and sparseness in their networks. Vertical strong ties bring direct support and solidarity, resulting in improved access to resources and priority over other projects; sparseness provides exposure to the full range of information and interpretations in the organization, resulting in a more accurate picture of the political landscape and thus enabling the implementation of an appropriate influence strategy. A PLS analysis of a sample of 73 French project leaders involved in NPD projects provided support for our hypotheses. Hence, we contribute to a very recent stream of research showing that the structural and relational dimensions of social capital are complementary.

This article establishes a framework to describe the firm’s strategic formation process when considering Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Following Martinet and Reynaud (2004), we consider corporate strategy as a continuous “game” between financial and sustainable axis within the business context. We posit that the firm’s strategic formation process involves both vertical dimensions (e.g., corporate, business and operational) and horizontal ones (i.e., from shareholders’ orientation to stakeholders’ perspectives).
We then present some theoretical characteristics for each element of these dimensions relating to the financial and sustainable axis and go on to demonstrate the dynamic nature of CSR strategies.

Comment et dans quelles circonstances un individu acquiert-il le sentiment de faire partie d'une équipe ? Ce sentiment se traduit-il par une volonté de coopérer avec les autres membres ? Pour répondre à ce questionnement, cet article s'appuie sur la théorie de l'identité sociale et son prolongement, la théorie de la catégorisation sociale, ainsi que sur des travaux plus récents issus de ces courants qui approfondissent la question de l'influence des processus d'identification sur les pratiques de coopération. Ces grilles de lecture conceptuelles sont mobilisées pour analyser et discuter les résultats d'une recherche longitudinale, multi-sites et multi-méthodes qui s'est déroulée de novembre 1997 à mars 1999 au sein d'une entreprise du secteur électronique. Les résultats, fondés sur la comparaison de différentes équipes opérationnelles, permettent de mieux comprendre comment se déroule le processus d'identification, l'évolution au fil du temps du potentiel de coopération qui en découle, ainsi que l'influence du design de l'équipe sur les pratiques de coopération. Ces résultats sont discutés et des pistes de recherche sont proposées en conclusion.

This article addresses the issue of organizational resilience in a structural context marked by complexity, change and distribution of activities between interdependent occupational groups. We adopt an interactionist approach, relying mostly on the works of E.C. Hughes and A. Strauss to show how articulation within and between groups can affect the achievement of organizational goals (safety and production) in the face of unexpected events. The paper is based on an empirical study of teams involved in major modernization projects of the rail transport system and facing critical, risky and very constrained work situations. Our empirical results describe in depth the nature of arrangements and negotiations made within and between occupational groups to articulate the work. We show how organizational conditions affect these arrangements and finally the resilience of the project organization and groups within it. We then discuss our results in four main points, aiming to give a more general scope to our results. Our first two points demonstrate how professional rivalries and asymmetric relations lead to a displacement in organizational goals and affect resilience. Our third point assesses the role and the limits of both informal and formal arrangements in articulation and resilience. We finally show how adopting an interactionist perspective questions the notion of resilience for an organization as a whole

Cet article s’interroge sur les croyances et attitudes des étudiants vis-à-vis de l’entrepreneuriat et sur la façon dont elles peuvent agir sur leur intention de se lancer dans ce type d’activité après leurs études. Le but est d’obtenir des pistes sur le type de contenu à donner aux formations dans le contexte de mise en oeuvre des maisons de l’entrepreneuriat. Au plan théorique, cette recherche s’appuie sur la théorie du comportement planifié ; l’intention de créer une entreprise est supposée dépendre de trois éléments : l’attrait perçu de la création d’entreprise ; le degré d’incitation à entreprendre perçu dans l’environnement social ; la confiance qu’a l’individu en sa capacité de mener à bien le processus entrepreneurial.
Ce modèle est testé sur 655 étudiants grenoblois. Les résultats confirment le pouvoir explicatif de la théorie du comportement planifié. Ils contribuent également à enrichir cette théorie en identifiant un effet modérateur : l’impact de la capacité perçue sur l’intention n’est pas le même selon que l’étudiant est proche ou éloigné dans le temps d’une entrée sur le marché du travail.
Une deuxième série de régressions permet d’identifier les types d’attentes professionnelles qui expliquent le plus l’attrait des étudiants pour la création et les tâches critiques pour réussir une création d’entreprise qui ont la plus grande influence sur le sentiment qu’a l’étudiant d’être capable de créer à l’issue de ses études.

A number of studies have found that the performance of NPD projects greatly depends on the support they get from top management. However, research into why some projects get more support than others has been limited. The present paper takes a political approach to NPD, in which top management support is considered to be a function of a project leader’s ability to influence decision processes through personal relationships. Mobilizing the bridging perspective of social capital, we argue that project leaders need both strong ties to high-ranking others and sparseness in their networks. Vertical strong ties bring direct support and solidarity, resulting in improved access to resources and priority over other projects; sparseness provides exposure to the full range of information and interpretations in the organization, resulting in a more accurate picture of the political landscape and thus enabling the implementation of an appropriate influence strategy. A PLS analysis of a sample of 73 French project leaders involved in NPD projects provided support for our hypotheses. Hence, we contribute to a very recent stream of research showing that the structural and relational dimensions of social capital are complementary.

This article establishes a framework to describe the firm’s strategic formation process when considering Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Following Martinet and Reynaud (2004), we consider corporate strategy as a continuous “game” between financial and sustainable axis within the business context. We posit that the firm’s strategic formation process involves both vertical dimensions (e.g., corporate, business and operational) and horizontal ones (i.e., from shareholders’ orientation to stakeholders’ perspectives).
We then present some theoretical characteristics for each element of these dimensions relating to the financial and sustainable axis and go on to demonstrate the dynamic nature of CSR strategies.

This article introduces the special issue on collaboration. It addresses the various perspectives on intra- and interorganizational collaboration, highlighting tensions, both in practice and research. It then presents the articles composing this special issue.

This article introduces the special issue on interorganizational relationships. It presents the articles composing this special issue.

In this paper, we present and discuss the notion of interorganizational synthesis. Interorganizational synthesis refers to synthesis in the relationships between all organizations involved in a collaborative project. Synthesis is critical if organizations are fully to leverage the benefits of interorganizational collaboration in complex environments. Reviewing other research in management, in areas such as culture, rationality, and language, we show that collaboration is a far more complex task than economic or contractual theories suggest. We then present ten critical building blocks that must be accounted for in the design of interorganizational relations if synthesis is to be realised. Each of these blocks is discussed and the potential risks, and management implications, are also presented.

While global warming stimulates debate on how to make organizations greener, the overheating of the world economy urges us to reconsider the ways in which we conceive management and organizing practices both as researchers and teachers. Exploitation as we know it may be behind us, but does this entail ideating a revolution to prepare a brighter future? Or are we simply facing a time of evolution? To put it more simply: is it time to unplug an overheating system and start from scratch, or can we still fix management and organizing practices? The path between an abstract scientism disconnected from reality and our subjection to short-term managerial interests is a narrow one. Both criticisms offer insight into our responsibility as researchers and teachers in the world as it is today. They can help us to redefine our connection with managerial practices and define the path we can follow to play a part in securing a brighter future.
To contribute to this overarching debate, we have invited two preeminent scholars to stretch boundaries and set the agenda for forthcoming research and teaching. Stewart Clegg (University of Technology, Sydney) and William H. Starbuck (University of Oregon) disclose their thoughts on the misconceptions in which we have been trapped and the challenges we have to face in order to reinvent management. Bill and Stewart have both had incredible careers. They have been influencing research in organization and management for several decades through their prolific publications, communication and engagement with practice. They are also both closely connected to M@n@gement. Bill participated in the first advisory committee of the journal. Stewart is currently one of the editors of M@n@gement and very actively involved in it, with all the passion he shows towards the many projects in which he participates.
Both Bill and Stewart are also very critical of what is being done in the field of management in terms of teaching, research and the way we do or do not engage with practice. They have still not lost faith, however, and they both answered my questions and generously offered their views on what the narrow path towards a brighter future in organizing practices could be. This confrontation of an advocate of skeptical reflection and an advocate of incremental efforts was initiated in the form of a moderated conversation at the 2010 EGOS colloquium (video available online at http://www.management-aims.com/, and was then developed into the present dialogic essay. This exchange, sometimes a confrontation, sometimes a convergent dialogue, inaugurates our “Unplugged” series, in which we give world-class scholars a wild card to share their own perspective on novel ways in which to conceive of management today.

Emmanuel Josserand

Des travaux de recherche récents ont mis en avant la spécificité de l’entreprise familiale sous l’angle de son capital social issu de l’interpénétration des sphères privées (la famille) et professionnelles (l’organisation). Dans le prolongement de ces nouveaux apports, nous proposons ici d’expliciter théoriquement par quel canal ce capital social de la famille peut se traduire en efficience organisationnelle, ce qui constitue pour l’instant un « chaînon manquant » dans la littérature sur les entreprises familiales. Après avoir précisé ce mécanisme, l’analyse est développée autour de deux principales sources de variation, à savoir la taille de l’entreprise et la génération impliquée – facteurs qui tendent à évoluer à travers le temps. Nous soutenons ainsi que la dilution de la famille dans la propriété ou dans la gestion et la multiplication des acteurs et des divergences d’intérêts possibles peuvent à terme finir par handicaper l’entreprise familiale en termes d’efficience organisationnelle et limiter ses capacités de survie vis à vis de l’entreprise non familiale.

This article illustrates and critically discusses how organizations manage, interact with, and involve stakeholders in social-related international accountability standards through the theoretical lens of actor-network theory. Theorizations on international accountability standards have largely focused on opportunities and problems related to their adoption from a macro-economic or governance perspective. The role of stakeholders and related management practices remain overlooked, with little evidence-based understanding of the interaction between internal and external organizational actors in multi-stakeholder involvement processes. Although overall generally relational approach to conceptualizing stakeholders is not new, this research focuses on the case of a well-known human-resource corporation and the way it involves stakeholders in a social-related accountability standard. The results reveal that gaining stakeholder involvement is a social innovation process supported by a strong network of stakeholders whose interests and agendas are taken into serious consideration by the corporation. The strength and the sustainability of the network established between the company and its stakeholders are subsequently dependent on the way the corporation translates its own interests and those of the stakeholders into common goals.

La plupart des chercheurs s’accordent sur le fait que l’émotion est une caractéristique essentielle de la prise de décision intuitive (PDI), mais rares sont ceux qui ont étudié le phénomène de façon empirique. De ce fait, on ne sait pas précisément comment l’émotion interagit avec le processus de prise de décision. Cet article se propose de commencer à élucider le rôle de l’émotion dans la PDI par une étude empirique de type exploratoire portant sur les réalisateurs de cinéma en période de tournage. Les résultats de l’étude montrent que la PDI peut être influencée par trois types d’émotions : les émotions liées à une expertise sur la décision à prendre, les émotions liées à une expérience émotionnelle antérieure sans lien direct avec la décision, ou les émotions spontanées sans lien avec une expertise ou une expérience passée. Nous explicitons aussi les conditions d’élaboration d’une prise de décision rationnelle (PDR) ainsi que de la délégation de la prise de décision (DPD) qui remplacent parfois, et dans des circonstances bien précises, le processus de prise de décision intuitive. Nous concluons cet article en évoquant les implications tant managériales que théoriques des résultats de cette étude.

While most researchers agree that emotions play an important role in the process of intuitive decision-making (IDM), few have investigated that role empirically. This article aims at filling that gap by investigating the role of emotion in IDM through an exploratory study of movie directors in the field. The data suggests that three types of emotions can influence IDM: emotions related to expertise, emotions related to a non-task relevant experience, or spontaneous emotions that are unrelated to either expertise or past experiences. Our data also suggests the conditions under which IDM is replaced by rational decision making (RDM), or the delegation of decision making (DDM). We derive theoretical and managerial implications based on our findings.

This paper critically examines the neglected importance of employee conformity in organisations. More specifically, it addresses the ways in which coercive persuasion can manufacture conformity through contemporary leadership processes and corporate culture practices. Drawing on the foundational work of Schein (1961), we illustrate how the nine techniques of coercive persuasion that he identified can serve as a framework for understanding the exercise of power and the manufacture of conformity in modern organisations. In particular, we discuss this framework in relation to the phenomenon of ‘corporate culturalism’ (in which powerful leaders determine constraining norms and values for others, in the form of compelling ideologies). We argue that ideology, when embraced with sufficient vigour, can function as an invisible internal eye, ensuring that subjects themselves become the instruments of their own subjugation. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of coercive persuasion in organisational discourse.

We examine the influence exiles have on the cultures left behind. As people break from the familiar routines of country or organization, they look forward to their intended destinations, but also backward to the homes they are leaving. It is that backward glance that we suggest may have powerful reverberations.

Les travaux de cartographie cognitive ont été réalisés jusqu'à maintenant à partir d'une variété impressionnante de méthodes ou techniques, leur choix dépendant en grande partie de l'orientation du chercheur ou du consultant sur le plan épistémologique. A l'intérieur d'une perspective subjectiviste, l'utilisation de techniques comme l'entrevue en profondeur, y compris en situation de groupe, favorise le respect du système référentiel des participants. Mais elle comporte également des inconvénients, dont ceux d'exiger des habiletés difficiles à maîtriser, d'être peu appropriée avec de grands groupes et d'exposer les participants au risque d'une influence considérable de l'intervenant sur les idées véhiculées. L'objectif de la présente recherche est de mettre à l'épreuve une nouvelle approche appelée "méthode des questions spontanées et de l'exploration libre", permettant de contourner plusieurs de ces inconvénients. Utilisée dans le cadre d'un exercice de réflexion stratégique auprès des 28 professeurs d'un département de gestion d'une université québécoise, l'approche a aidé à déterminer, structurer et prioriser les préoccupations des membres de ce département en lien avec son avenir. Les recommandations, décisions et actions auxquelles les résultats de l'exercice ont donné lieu sont présentées de façon détaillée. Finalement, un bilan de cette mise à l'épreuve de la méthode est tracé et ses implications sont discutées.

Partnering constitutes an important strategy for organizations to deal with increasing environmental flux. Empirical failures, however, still outweigh the theoretical promises of partnerships. At the same time, the field is characterized by a burgeoning albeit heterogeneous body of literature. This paper therefore aims to develop a comprehensive multidisciplinary lens on supply chain partnerships. By approaching partnerships as an inherently dynamic phenomenon drawing from organizational change literature, such a lens takes on a transformational nature. The lens integrates various bodies of literature by pointing out their specific change perspective as well as the transition zones between their underlying assumptions. Consequently, the transformational lens is employed to explore two case studies of supplier-producer dyads in the food industry. The findings illustrate the simultaneous presence of higher management driven change and continuous change at the middle management level. The findings also aid in drawing propositions for further empirical examination and refinement of the relationship between the underlying assumptions of the transformational lens. The transformational lens contributes by facilitating a more complete picture of partnerships than would be achieved by considering each of its constituent bodies of literature in isolation, and sheds new light on the temporal aspect of partnerships.

Reinventing government (REGO) reforms, once dismissed by some as a passing fad, have made inroads in the public sector. However many barriers to REGO reforms, both inside and outside of government, still exist. The authors discuss some of these barriers and also offer suggestions to overcome the resistance to change. They conclude that REGO reforms must be embraced if the public sector is to take advantage of the possibilities offered by the Information Age and advancing Information Technology (IT).

L'objectif de cet article est de montrer que les logiques de calcul et de construction identitaire sont intimement liées dans les rapports coopératifs au sein d'équipes projet. Pour cela, nous avons construit deux formes de coopération en se fondant sur une dichotomie classique en sciences sociales. La coopération complémentaire se développe dans une rationalité calculatoire du fait du besoin de ressources complémentaires, où des engagements interindividuels assurent la congruence des intérêts individuels. L'école des relations humaines et les théories de l'identification sociale dénoncent la sous-socialisation de la coopération complémentaire. Une forme de coopération, que nous avons qualifiée de communautaire, peut apparaître. Cette coopération est fondée sur l'existence d'un processus d'identification sociale, où les individus s'identifient aux attributs qu'ils perçoivent comme communs aux membres du groupe. Si ces deux formes de coopération s'opposent quant à leur fondement et leur organisation, le processus coopératif s'avère ambivalent. Nous proposons alors une reconceptualisation de la coopération en définissant trois dimensions transversales. A travers l'étude approfondie de deux équipes projet, nous explorons le contenu de chaque dimension transversale aux deux formes de coopération. Cette analyse permet de définir des modalités de génération d'une forme de coopération par une autre dans le cas d'équipes projets ; ces modalités de passage d'une coopération à une autre relèvent pour chaque dimension du même mécanisme. L'ambiguïté quant à la finalité de l'action coopérative permet la variance des schémas interprétatifs, facilite la construction de compromis, et ainsi le passage d'une forme de coopération à une autre. La définition progressive, dans l'action, par les acteurs de leur fonction et statut dans le groupe, dans une dynamique d'enrôlement, constitue un deuxième mécanisme récursif de génération d'une forme de coopération par une autre. Enfin, les normes du périmètre du collectif et leur variation impactent les modes d'engagements interindividuels en définissant ce qui est hors du groupe et ce qui est dans le groupe ; le directeur de projet a un rôle central dans sa définition et sa variation et ainsi dans le passage entre les deux coopérations.

Institutional work concerns the way in which the activities of actors contribute to the evolution of institutions, whether through their creation, disruption or maintenance. In this paper, we argue that the notion of “test”, as developed by conventionalist theory, provides an innovative lens through which to examine the nature of institutional work and the evolution of institutions. Conventionalist theory posits that constitutive value frameworks guide individuals’ behaviors and provide the legitimating systems for their actions. It pays particular attention to moments of questioning of these value frameworks, and how they may affect existing legitimate practices and principles. Such moments of test provide a remarkable opportunity for understanding institutional work as they allow a close examination of three key dimensions associated with actors’ questioning or reproduction of constitutive value frameworks: agency, relationality and temporality. We suggest that an analytical focus on moments of test can foster more systematic attention to these dimensions, and productively contribute to ongoing research on how and why institutions may be disrupted, maintained, or created in a diversity of situations.

In spite of the rich contributions which it has made to recent scholarship, Business and Society research does not systematically address the organizational and managerial issues associated with corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies and policies. In the 1970s, this very conclusion prompted the Harvard Business School to launch a research program focused on Corporate Social Responsiveness, although the content of the program has since been forgotten and/or overly simplified. This article explores the program’s origins and content, assesses its contributions, and formulates hypotheses as to why the program was left behind. We contend that the Corporate Social Responsiveness program can assist with an analysis of the internal dynamics shaping how organizations institutionalize social and environmental issues.

The article considers the discourse surrounding culture change programmes in two British manufacturing organisations. The analysis of organisational discourse is pursued as a means of revealing the indeterminacy of organisational experiences and the problems inherent to the introduction of generic change approaches such as TQM (Total Quality Management) and BPR (Business Process Reengineering). An examination of the discourse used in the case companies will show an intricate set of structural, cultural, economic, and personal pressures passing through the TQM/BPR concepts. Organisational actors from all hierarchical levels are shown to be "disciplined" by the change discourse to various degrees. Three discursive movements are examined: the imposition/ introduction of a hegemonic discourse, the resistance to this discourse, and the appropriation of the discourse by line managers to reconstitute their actions and those of senior management. The outcome of these movements is a contested set of stories, full of contradiction and ambiguity. If the change discourse is to be embodied in local practices it cannot remain purely monologic, but has to engage in a dialogic relationship with existing and emerging concepts and meanings.

Cet article s’intéresse au processus de désinstitutionnalisation d’un Evénement Configurateur de Champ (ECC) ainsi qu’aux conséquences de cette désinstitutionnalisation sur un champ organisationnel. Pour ce faire, nous avons réalisé une étude historiographique de la désinstitutionnalisation du Salon de Paris. Cet ECC central a structuré le champ des Beaux-Arts en France pendant plus de deux siècles avant de décliner progressivement à la fin du 19ème siècle. D’un point de vue théorique, les résultats mettent en évidence un processus de désinstitutionnalisation des ECCs résultant de l’interaction et de la dynamique de plusieurs facteurs que sont des contradictions internes à l’ECC, l’émergence d’un travail institutionnel de mise en place d’alternatives, la constitution d’une masse critique puis le développement de pressions institutionnelles incitant à abandonner l’ECC. Cette étude permet également d’analyser l’impact important du déclin d’un ECC sur la structure, la répartition et la nature du pouvoir et surtout sur la temporalité dans un champ. Enfin, elle permet d’apporter des contributions à l’étude du processus de désinstitutionnalisation en général. D’un point de vue managérial, cette étude suggère qu’afin d’éviter le déclin d’un ECC, ses promoteurs doivent s’organiser pour intégrer l’innovation.

The Decline and Fall of the Paris Salon: a Study of the Deinstitutionalization Process of a Field Configuring Event in the Cultural Activities
This article examines the deinstitutionalization of a Field Configuring Event (FCE) and the consequences of this deinstitutionalization for an organizational field. To this end, we carried out a historiographical study of the deinstitutionalization of the Paris Salon. This pivotal FCE was the central event of the Beaux-Arts field in France for over two centuries before its progressive decline at the end of the 19th Century. From a theoretical point of view, our results show that the deinstitutionalization process of FCEs is the result of the interaction and dynamics of several factors, notably, the internal contradictions of the FCE, the emergence of alternatives resulting from institutional developments, and the constitution of a critical mass, followed by the development of institutional pressures that encourage the abandonment of the FCE. This study also enables us to analyze the impact of an FCE’s decline on the structure, distribution and nature of power, and especially on temporality within a field. Finally, it contributes to the study of the deinstitutionalization process in general. From a managerial point of view, this study suggests that promoters must organize themselves to integrate innovation, in order to avoid the decline of the FCE.

Les entreprises en situation de concurrence cherchent à obtenir un avantage concurrentiel en améliorant leur position par rapport à celle de leurs concurrents. Une fois cet avantage obtenu, les concurrents vont, à leur tour, chercher à obtenir leur propre avantage afin de ne pas se laisser distancer voire dépasser. S’enclenche alors, au sein d’un secteur, une dynamique dans laquelle il est nécessaire, pour les entreprises, d’investir toujours plus de ressources pour, au final, conserver une situation concurrentielle identique. Cette spirale concurrentielle est dénommée dans la littérature, Red Queen Effect (RQE). Les objectifs de cette note de recherche sont triples. Tout d’abord, il s’agit de présenter ce processus concurrentiel ainsi que les principaux résultats contradictoires mis en évidence dans la littérature. Ensuite, il s’agit de souligner les apports du RQE en le positionnant par rapport aux principaux courants de recherche en stratégie afin d’en souligner les ressemblances et divergences. Enfin, l’examen des limites permet la suggestion de travaux futurs portant sur le RQE.

Research Note: The Red Queen Effect: Principle, synthesis and implications for strategy
Organisations competing with others seek a competitive advantage by improving their position compared to that of their rivals. Once they have gained this advantage, their competitors will in turn try to obtain an advantage in order not to be overtaken or left behind. This gives rise to a dynamic within the sector that makes it necessary for firms to invest ever more resources in order ultimately to remain in an identical competitive position. In the literature, this competitive spiral is called the Red Queen Effect (RQE). The aims of our research paper are threefold. First, we present this competitive process together with the main contradictory findings available in the literature. We then attempt to identify the contributions of the RQE theory by positioning it in relation to the main streams of research in strategy in order to highlight where it is similar to them and where it differs. Finally, an examination of the limitations enables us to identify future avenues for research on the RQE.

Este artículo analiza la relación de la flexibilidad de los recursos humanos con la adopción del teletrabajo y los resultados de la empresa. Los datos de una encuesta realizada a 156 empresas españolas indican que el uso de prácticas flexibles de recursos humanos (flexibilidad funcional y flexibilidad numérica interna) está asociado de forma positiva con el uso del teletrabajo, y que de forma conjunta están asociadas positivamente, aunque con escaso valor predictivo,
con los resultados de la empresa. Las prácticas de flexibilidad externa no están asociadas con el teletrabajo, pero lo están negativamente con los resultados empresariales. El artículo analiza también las implicaciones para la gestión de las empresas interesadas en el teletrabajo y la flexibilidad de los recursos humanos.

This introduction to the special issue on governance and ethics situates the question in existing theoretical frameworks, highlights stakes and implications, and discusses the different ways in which companies are perceived. New approaches give rise to a more fundamental re?ection on a new stakeholder type of governance and the development of ethical conduct. Ethics has thus become one of the reference values upon which a new pact should be built between the various actors of the organization concerning governance. Ethical behaviour in governance is de?ned as the way in which a company's stakeholders try to manage collective action from the perspective, and in the interest, of the majority, thus avoiding damaging behaviours, and through a better control of the power and responsibilities of the company's managers. In the area of governance, therefore, ethics aims at raising awareness of the others' rights and common needs, by imposing some principles of minimum requirement. From this point of view, ethical governance must be seen as a system of shared and transparent governance which seeks to establish the general frameworks and guidelines for managers of large companies, by enforcing the values of transparency, responsibility and professionalism. For this reason, a stronger link between ethics and governance has to contribute to help the company's stakeholders to behave, in their decisions and actions, in a way which is acceptable, reasonable and in conformity with given values of reference. Nevertheless, notwithstanding these positive actions, it should be stressed that a company forms part of the business world, and as such has to create value and generate pro?ts. Indeed, other reasons should be highlighted, such as the capacity to generate value for the client and all other stakeholders in an equitable and responsible way, thanks to a better and continuous adaptation of its products and services to new needs and market expectations.

Most musings on the strategic management of new organizational forms -- e.g., loosely coupled systems, information-technology-enabled networks, and virtual organizations -- exhibit two fundamental research weaknesses. First, the "new organizational formists" are insufficiently grounded in research on old organizational forms and old organizational strategies. Second, most studies of new organizational forms are insufficiently grounded in data from the new organizational forms they purport to explain. This leads to a situation in which chroniclers of an important change in organizations are too-often ignored because they are atheoretical and aempirical. This study of John Brown Engineering & Construction's adoption of an explicit information technology strategy provides a specific research context in which to consider three related phenomena. The first phenomenon is the continual movement in organizational forms, from firms, to bureaucracies, to institutions, and -- most recently -- to loosely coupled systems, information-technology- enabled networks, and virtual organizations. The second phenomenon is the continued accumulation of strategic options: cost leadership, differentiation, strategic alliances, vertical integration, diversification, globalization, and merger and acquisition strategies. The third phenomenon is the notion of "schizoid incoherence," a condition common to sensemakers, decision-makers, and strategy makers in which there are numerous possible directions to take.

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar cómo influye la exploración y la explotación de conocimiento en el resultado de las adquisiciones y el papel que el conflicto juega en esa relación. Proponemos que el nivel de conflicto tanto preadquisición como postadquisición tiene dos caras. Por un lado, una cara negativa, desarrollada en muchos trabajos, que implica que el conflicto reduce el nivel de explotación de conocimiento generado tras una adquisición. Por otro lado, una cara positiva, ausente hasta ahora de la literatura, que defiende que el conflicto impulsa el nivel de exploración en una adquisición. A través de una muestra de 74 adquisiciones demostramos que la creación de valor está relacionada con el nivel de exploración y el nivel de explotación de la adquisición y que el conflicto que se produce en una adquisición tiene un efecto positivo sobre la exploración.

This paper builds on the relational exchange and power-dependency literature to explore the role played by specific relational antecedents that lead to the hoarding of slack resources. We hypothesize about the impact of four different aspects characterizing supplier-customer relationships on the level of slack resource hoarded by the suppliers: 1/ the interdependence equilibrium between supplier and customer, 2/ the reciprocal power of supplier and customer, 3/ the relational norms that structure the relationship, and 4/ the performance of the supplier. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 98 French automotive component suppliers. Our findings allow us to distinguish between potential and available slack, and suggest that a supplierÕs level of available slack resources increases when its dependence on the customer is higher, when its power is lower, and when the relational norms governing the relationship with the customer are stronger. Moreover, the statistical results point out that the level of potential slack resources held by a supplier is explained neither by the relational behavior of the firm nor by the power-dependence equilibrium between the partners, however a high performance supplier enjoys a higher level of potential slack.

This paper builds on the relational exchange and power-dependency literature to explore the role played by specific relational antecedents that lead to the hoarding of slack resources. We hypothesize about the impact of four different aspects characterizing supplier-customer relationships on the level of slack resource hoarded by the suppliers: 1/ the interdependence equilibrium between supplier and customer, 2/ the reciprocal power of supplier and customer, 3/ the relational norms that structure the relationship, and 4/ the performance of the supplier. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 98 French automotive component suppliers. Our findings allow us to distinguish between potential and available slack, and suggest that a supplierÕs level of available slack resources increases when its dependence on the customer is higher, when its power is lower, and when the relational norms governing the relationship with the customer are stronger. Moreover, the statistical results point out that the level of potential slack resources held by a supplier is explained neither by the relational behavior of the firm nor by the power-dependence equilibrium between the partners, however a high performance supplier enjoys a higher level of potential slack.

This paper seeks to open up for discussion the emotional world of researchers in a manner that encourages and supports reflective practice. Drawing on the work of Clifford Geertz (1968) we focus on the irony inherent to research --elaborated via the concept of covertness-- whereby ethnographic researchers construct mutual fictions in their relationships with respondents, which obscure the authenticity and sincerity of the emotional exchange between researcher and researched. Specifically we discuss examples of interpersonal dynamics which generate uncomfortable emotions and identity work on the part of researchers. Ultimately, we advance understanding of how emotions and identity work influence the collection and interpretation of data. The methodological implications for conducting ethnographic research are discussed.

In 1978, Lefty Rosenthal—a former Chicago bookmaker—became Director of Entertainment at the Stardust Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Roemer (1994: 111), in his book about Vegas, says, "Lefty had traveled a road paved with controversy and dispute. I guess you could say Lefty was representative of Las Vegas". What makes the Rosenthal story interesting and relevant to organizational theory? We intend to analyze whether Lefty is "representative" of Las Vegas, and in doing so, we examine the issue of representation. Specifically, we analyze the story, as told by Roemer (1994) and Pileggi (1995), from a historical point of view and, then, from a Jungian archetypal point of view. However, we would like to be somewhat post-Jungian, and following the Anti-Oedipus of Deleuze and Guattari (1977), we will put forward a revised Jungian account for the material genealogy of Las Vegas. We conclude the paper by commenting upon the "demise of representation" (Knights, 1997) and its implications for organizational theory.

The complexity science metaphor provides an opportunity for imaginative innovations in the field of career counseling. Chaos, complexity, and self-organization are particularly important in light of the demands placed on individuals confronting the "new career" culture. This article describes the key conceptual structures of the complexity science metaphor for counseling, in general, and elaborates on the connections between those conceptual structures for the field of career counseling practice and theory at the dawn of the new career era.

This paper aims at understanding organizational boundaries in their different dimensions : internal and external, horizontal and vertical, static and dynamic. It first gives a definition of the phenomenon : a boundary is a potential or actual mechanism that rarefies or regulates flows between two heterogeneous spaces, and makes these flows visible. It then formulates three propositions :
1. There are no such things as « natural boundaries ». Organizational boundaries are the result of decisions about capability units that are always debated.
2. Once established, boundaries tend to be stable and to become entrenched.
3. Even when they are entrenched, boundaries remain debatable. When controversies intensity, strategies aiming at changing the boundaries develop, and strategies aiming at maintaining them develop in response. A case study allows a discussion of these propositions. The selected case is the Air Traffic Management industry in Europe. The authors have been working on it for more than ten years. The main points this article makes are the following: The concept of capability unit is related to the idea that there are no such things as « natural » boundaries. When managers define a boundary, be it internal or external, they think of a capability, and this is done in a context of causal ambiguity. Boundaries are the object of a decision and are always debatable and debated. They induce a rarefaction of the financial, informational, and other flows, and this rarefaction can vary in intensity over time. Once defined, boundaries tend to sediment and become entrenched. In such a process, the asynchrony of decisions made in different areas, such as technology, human resources, and organization of sub-activities, plays a key role. As the environment evolves, controversies concerning the perimeter of the capability units may intensify and some actors may develop strategies aimed at changing the boundaries. These strategies will pertain to the boundaries of a few capability units, or to a large set of boundaries. In the latter case, the strategy, which can be characterized as “architectural”, would be developed by an actor with a particular status. This actor would belong to several organizational fields and would therefore not be constrained by the same symbolic boundaries as actors who belong to one field alone. Such a strategy entails a willingness to impose synchrony to other actors in the industry. The dynamics of displacing the boundaries relies on two processes.

Il est indéniable que les entreprises familiales possèdent des caractéristiques de gestion qui leurs sont propres, nées de l’imbrication de la famille et de l’entreprise. Il est aussi indéniable que les sources propres de compétitivité de ces entreprises manquent encore d’assises théoriques fortes. Dans ce papier, nous cherchons à renforcer ces assises, en recourant à la théorie du capital social, elle-même fondée sur l’approche par les ressources. Appliquée aux firmes familiales, cette théorie contribue à expliquer l’existence de sources particulières de compétitivité. Plus précisément, l’existence d’un capital social familial, qui a été démontrée dans les recherches passées sur la famille, influence la création et le développement d’un capital social propre à l’entreprise familiale, qui est lui-même source potentielle d’avantages pour la firme.

Organizational and management research focuses extensively on topics of legitimacy and competition. At center-stage lie for-profit organizations, which are often assumed to operate in economically turbulent environments embedded in stable sovereign institutions. Our goal in this short essay is to envisage a broader picture that takes seriously other types of organization that gravitate at the periphery of capitalism’s territories and redefine the norms of competition and legitimate profit. Rehearsing the punch line of our recent book (Durand & Vergne, 2010, 2013), we advocate for a line of research that explores the boundaries of capitalistic expansion by examining the interactions between three types of actors: sovereign states and their monopolies, which map and impose norms upon the new territories of capitalism (a process we call “normalization”); legitimate for-profit corporations, which generate a profit in the wake of sovereign normalization (we call them “organizations-of-the-milieu”); and pirate organizations, operating from the fringes of capitalism to contest the sovereign’s norms in the name of a “public cause”. We are especially attentive to the convergent patterns of interactions we observed across time and space on the high seas (17th century), on the airwaves (early 20th century), in cyberspace (since the 1980s) and at the heart of living species in the form of DNA research (since the 1990s). This leads us to assert that sea pirates, pirate radio stations, cyberpirates and biopirates have a lot more in common than prior research on piracy typically assumed.

Cet article s’interroge sur les croyances et attitudes des étudiants vis-à-vis de l’entrepreneuriat et sur la façon dont elles peuvent agir sur leur intention de se lancer dans ce type d’activité après leurs études. Le but est d’obtenir des pistes sur le type de contenu à donner aux formations dans le contexte de mise en oeuvre des maisons de l’entrepreneuriat. Au plan théorique, cette recherche s’appuie sur la théorie du comportement planifié ; l’intention de créer une entreprise est supposée dépendre de trois éléments : l’attrait perçu de la création d’entreprise ; le degré d’incitation à entreprendre perçu dans l’environnement social ; la confiance qu’a l’individu en sa capacité de mener à bien le processus entrepreneurial.
Ce modèle est testé sur 655 étudiants grenoblois. Les résultats confirment le pouvoir explicatif de la théorie du comportement planifié. Ils contribuent également à enrichir cette théorie en identifiant un effet modérateur : l’impact de la capacité perçue sur l’intention n’est pas le même selon que l’étudiant est proche ou éloigné dans le temps d’une entrée sur le marché du travail.
Une deuxième série de régressions permet d’identifier les types d’attentes professionnelles qui expliquent le plus l’attrait des étudiants pour la création et les tâches critiques pour réussir une création d’entreprise qui ont la plus grande influence sur le sentiment qu’a l’étudiant d’être capable de créer à l’issue de ses études.

El objetivo de este trabajo es tratar de clarificar el impacto que tiene sobre el desempeño empresarial la implantación de una estrategia de Supply Chain Management (SCM) teniendo en cuenta los efectos de su localización regional. Para ello, se va a emplear una muestra de 358 empresas manufactureras españolas en el periodo comprendido entre 1994 y 2001 bajo un modelo de industria básico. Los resultados muestran como el impacto de la SCM sobre la performance empresarial depende de la localización empresarial elegida. En concreto, se muestran las ventajas competitivas relacionadas con la SCM de las distintas comunidades autónomas españolas.

Over the past decade a number of analysts have argued that we have seen the end of the traditional managerial career. In this paper we examine how various types of downsizing affect the organizational career systems. We take the career system perspective of Sonnenfeld and Peiperl (1988) and examine how delayering, earlier retirement and other common forms of downsizing disrupt or reinforce these career systems. This analysis together with that of Evans, Gunz and Jalland (1997) provides us with a framework to help managers understand the impact of downsizing on careers and select modes of downsizing that will sustain or reorient the career systems of their organizations.

Do entrepreneurship education programmes influence participants’ attitudes and perceptions towards entrepreneurial intentions and therefore the entrepreneurial behaviour itself? Researchers and entrepreneurship education stakeholders alike (public institutions, academic authorities, teachers, etc.) have been looking into this question for quite a while, with a view to validating the efficacy of such programmes. The authors of this paper propose to operationalize the concept of entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents in an attempt to answer this question. A study to measure the effects of an entrepreneurship education programme (EEP) and the factors that may influence the participants in this type of programme is presented. Our main research results show that the positive effects of an EEP are all the more marked where previous entrepreneurial exposure has been weak or inexistent. Conversely, for those students who had previously been exposed to entrepreneurship, the results highlight significant counter-effects.

Organizational downsizing has been a major organizational strategy emphasized by managers to improve performance since the late 1980s. Despite the popularity of downsizing in organizations, the implementation of downsizing has resulted in various negative effects on employee morale. This paper examines the relationship between downsizing and trust. The paper first provides a review of the philosophy and strategies for downsizing. It then examines the impact of various downsizing strategies on employee trust and organizational trust. Lastly, the paper offers a discussion about the implications of these strategies for individuals, organizations, and society.

Résumé: Les techniques de modélisation causale, en particulier les équations structurelles (et notamment celles basées sur la covariance), ont connu un succès croissant auprès des chercheurs en management depuis une vingtaine d’années. Parmi elles, l’approche PLS (Partial Least Squares) commence à être diffusée depuis quelques années au sein de la communauté de la recherche en management. Or, les connaissances sur cette méthode sont peu approfondies et peu diffusées. Cet article tente de démontrer en quoi l’approche PLS est une méthode riche et subtile offrant des opportunités pour la recherche en management qui méritent d’être saisies. Pour cela, la méthode et ses principes sont exposés puis illustrés par une recherche menée dans le domaine des relations clients-fournisseurs. Puis, les spécificités de l’approche PLS sont abordées et l’utilisation de l’outil est étudiée à travers l’analyse empirique de 51 articles en management et stratégie. On en conclut que, même si des efforts restent encore à fournir au niveau de la fiabilité statistique de certaines études, l’approche PLS permet indéniablement d’offrir de réelles opportunités aux chercheurs en management, les affranchissant de certaines difficultés techniques et leur permettant de se concentrer alors sur l’essentiel, leur objet de recherche. La diffusion de l’approche PLS au sein de la communauté des chercheurs en management pourrait donc contribuer de façon très significative à l’enrichissement scientifique de la discipline.

Abstract: Over the last two decades management scientists have made increasing use of causal modeling techniques, especially structural equations and most notably those based on covariance. One such technique that could make a major contribution to the management sciences is the partial least squares (PLS) approach. In recent years the method has been applied to an increasing number of studies; however, many researchers’ knowledge of the method’s advantages and limitations remains incomplete. The present article addresses this situation by presenting the richness and subtleties of the PLS approach, and by describing the research opportunities it opens up. The principles underlying the PLS method and its practical application are illustrated via a study in the field of customer-supplier relations. This is followed by a review of the approach’s specificities and an examination of the way the tool has been used in previous studies, based on an empirical analysis of 51 articles in the fields of management and strategy. Although some studies did not follow best practices for assessing the statistical reliability of results, analysis of the 51 articles showed that the PLS approach can provide new research opportunities for management scientists by freeing them from a number of technical constraints and allowing them to focus on the object of their research. Consequently, raising awareness of the PLS approach among the management science research community could greatly enrich the field.

Las Vegas is studied as an arguably prototype postmodern space to develop some understanding of (post)modern consumption. Analyses indicate that while Las Vegas has several characteristics that may help a deeper understanding of the modern and of conditions that signal transformations toward the postmodern, it is far from being a postmodern space. The hegemony of the market and the insistence of the commercial hinder the development of the postmodern. However, insights into the nature of Las Vegas as excess, the change in the status of motion and speed (which are now ends in themselves rather than means to arrive at a destination), and the consumer inclinations for immersion into themes observed in Las Vegas provide explanations that will help a better understanding of contemporary cultural trends.

Questo lavoro utilizza la teoria del capitale sociale per comprendere le peculiarità del processo di acquisizione della conoscenza sui mercati esteri da parte delle start-ups. L'ipotesi sostenuta e' che lo sviluppo del capitale sociale nelle relazioni di business estere può favorire l'acquisizione di conoscenza che, a sua volta, accelera la crescita estera di tali imprese. Il campione analizzato include 112 start-ups italiane ad alta tecnologia, mentre l'unità di osservazione sono le relazioni diadiche da essi intraprese con il proprio cliente estero più importante. I risultati ottenuti confermano l'ipotesi che l'acquisizione di conoscenza risente del tipo di relazioni sociali instaurate con i clienti esteri più importanti, sia in modo positivo che negativo, a seconda della specifica dimensione del capitale sociale coinvolta.

Cette recherche s’intéresse aux choix des entreprises en matière de protection de leurs innovations. La littérature antérieure a eu tendance à suivre deux perspectives rarement combinées, et consistant à mettre l’accent soit sur la rivalité entre les différentes méthodes, soit sur l’intérêt de les combiner. Nous nous efforçons de combiner ces perspectives pour expliquer le choix des méthodes de protection. Quatre modalités sont étudiées : la protection par des méthodes informelles, la protection par le brevet, la combinaison de ces deux formes et le choix de n’opter pour aucune d’entre elles. L’analyse est menée sur les données de l’enquête communautaire CIS3. Nous explorons notamment l’homogénéité des méthodes informelles. Nous mettons ensuite en évidence trois types d’influences sur les préférences de choix selon que les variables favorisent exclusivement les méthodes informelles, favorisent le brevet seul ou en combinaison, ou favorisent une combinaison de méthodes, sans préférence pour l’une d’elles.

Do entrepreneurship education programmes influence participants’ attitudes and perceptions towards entrepreneurial intentions and therefore the entrepreneurial behaviour itself? Researchers and entrepreneurship education stakeholders alike (public institutions, academic authorities, teachers, etc.) have been looking into this question for quite a while, with a view to validating the efficacy of such programmes. The authors of this paper propose to operationalize the concept of entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents in an attempt to answer this question. A study to measure the effects of an entrepreneurship education programme (EEP) and the factors that may influence the participants in this type of programme is presented. Our main research results show that the positive effects of an EEP are all the more marked where previous entrepreneurial exposure has been weak or inexistent. Conversely, for those students who had previously been exposed to entrepreneurship, the results highlight significant counter-effects.

The current article considers the importance of the links existing between social relations and relations of trust, on the one hand, and economic and business relations on the other, in networks of firms, particularly networks of small firms that have formed involuntarily. Among these links, it is important to discover the way tacit and explicit information flows are established within the network and the conditions for them to occur. We examine these questions in a network of firms from the shoe industry using the methods and concepts of social network analysis. With this in mind, we have analysed the complex network of small firms by breaking it down into subnetworks in order to better understand its general structure. Our findings show that economic relations (cooperation, commercial exchanges) and social relations (trust, friendship, kinship, information interchanges) between the firms in the network are embedded within each other. The firms of the network exchange tacit information only with those firms with which they maintain stronger social and business links. Information and knowledge are treated as a strategic resource that is only shared with those companies that are not direct competitors.

El objetivo de este trabajo es contribuir a un mayor entendimiento sobre las implicaciones de la organización del trabajo, en particular "equipos de trabajo", en el performance de la empresa. El estudio que se presenta es eminentemente empírico, donde aplicándose una metodología integradora, tanto cualitativa como cuantitativa (con el objeto de minimizar las carencias que ambos métodos presentan de forma aislada), se busca analizar la relación existente entre trabajo en equipo y performance, a través del estudio concreto de las dos plantas productivas de una compañía industrial española filial de una de las más importantes multinacionales alemanas pertenecientes al sector metal, tomando como indicadores de dicho performance la productividad laboral, la calidad y el absentismo productivo, con el objeto de recoger aspectos de actitud y comportamiento además de los puramente económicos. Los resultados revelan que la eficacia del grupo depende, previsiblemente, del clima tecnológico y del clima que crea la dirección a través de su influencia en el diseño de las tareas, en la composición del grupo, y en el contexto organizacional, siendo muy importantes también el diseño organizativo y la cultura de la empresa.

In an ever-changing environment, firms must also constantly change the way they do things in order to compete successfully. The Spanish textile leaders of 1992 (in comparison to 1978) have altered their organizational boundaries, favoring more complex and flexible structures, outsourcing production and procurement activities -in order to decrease production costs- and integrating their sales force and distribution channels -in order to gain knowledge from their customers. Based on a study we conducted using data from semi-structured interviews with twenty CEOs and secondary sources within leading Spanish textile companies, we found that larger firms adapted through learning whereas medium-size enterprises were subjected to ecological selection.

This paper presents the results of a survey of 74 owner-managed small companies in Alicante (Spain), exploring the existence and performance implications of new venture competitive strategies. A factor analytic procedure and cluster analysis confirmed the existence of multiple strategies which new venture firms follow. Four strategic clusters of firms were uncovered: 1/ Differentiation, 2/ Innovation, 3/ Product Offering, and 4/ Aggressive Growth with Narrow Special Products. A Scheffé posteriori contrast test revealed different "performance patterns" between these clusters.

Few institutions have as much experience with organizational downsizing as the United States military. The historic pattern has been one of a small professional military in peacetime, rapidly supplemented by a mobilization of civilians during war, followed by a rapid demobilization with the war's end. Decisions about military force sizing are critical political and strategic decisions. This article discusses the downsizing of the United State's Cold War military force. Each of the three major reviews of the military structure --Base Force, Bottom-Up-Review, Quadrennial Review-- are briefly discussed. Some of the claimed consequences of downsizing of the military are considered in the concluding section.

This paper seeks to open up for discussion the emotional world of researchers in a manner that encourages and supports reflective practice. Drawing on the work of Clifford Geertz (1968) we focus on the irony inherent to research --elaborated via the concept of covertness-- whereby ethnographic researchers construct mutual fictions in their relationships with respondents, which obscure the authenticity and sincerity of the emotional exchange between researcher and researched. Specifically we discuss examples of interpersonal dynamics which generate uncomfortable emotions and identity work on the part of researchers. Ultimately, we advance understanding of how emotions and identity work influence the collection and interpretation of data. The methodological implications for conducting ethnographic research are discussed.

This paper proposes the concept of "safe risk" as a tool for understanding social transformations in contemporary spectacular society. The paper reviews theories of risk that have emerged in scholarly research. "Safe risk" is proposed as a concept which extends our understanding of the institutional production and consumption of risk. I argue that safe risk production is fundamental to tourism and leisure industries as illustrated by the casino-resort industry on the Las Vegas Strip. The concept of safe risk also provides insights into the nature and emergence of communities and civility in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Three safe risk themes are addressed: financial safe risk or "safe money"; the consumption of sexual imagery through "safe sex"; and the production of casino-environments and residential areas as "safe places". Safe risk production is interpreted using critical theory and postmodern theory. The paper establishes the importance of safe risk as an organizationally produced and consumed image. It provides insights into why safe risk and other simulations may be more attractive than reality even though the consumption of safe risk entails real hazards and dangers. And the paper concludes by suggesting that safe risk analysis should become an important focus in postmodern studies and management and organization theory.

A number of studies have found that the performance of NPD projects greatly depends on the support they get from top management. However, research into why some projects get more support than others has been limited. The present paper takes a political approach to NPD, in which top management support is considered to be a function of a project leader’s ability to influence decision processes through personal relationships. Mobilizing the bridging perspective of social capital, we argue that project leaders need both strong ties to high-ranking others and sparseness in their networks. Vertical strong ties bring direct support and solidarity, resulting in improved access to resources and priority over other projects; sparseness provides exposure to the full range of information and interpretations in the organization, resulting in a more accurate picture of the political landscape and thus enabling the implementation of an appropriate influence strategy. A PLS analysis of a sample of 73 French project leaders involved in NPD projects provided support for our hypotheses. Hence, we contribute to a very recent stream of research showing that the structural and relational dimensions of social capital are complementary.

La réutilisation des données qualitatives (RDQ) est une méthodologie assez peu mobilisée en sciences de gestion. Cet article s'interroge sur le statut, la légitimité, les potentialités et les limites qu'elle peut y avoir. Après avoir examiné la place accordée à la RDQ au sein des méthodes en sciences de gestion, nous procéderons à sa délimitation et au repérage de la variété de ses formes, nous précisons les questions épistémologiques soulevées avant d'envisager les conditions de son utilisation.

With the increasing culture of participative democracy, tackling sustainability issues involves an ever more diverse range of stakeholders, while participants’ disparate backgrounds, representations and aims lead them to develop distinct understandings of the same situation, resulting in ambiguity and frequent conflicts. Decision-makers involved in sustainable development thus need to ascertain who is affected by their decisions and who has the power to influence the outcome of those decisions, i.e. the stakeholders.
Although much research has focused on stakeholder analysis (SA), such studies have mainly focused on stakeholders’ heterogeneity regarding firm objectives, and have neglected the necessary explorative nature of participatory decisionmaking for sustainability. Methodologies for carrying out SA in organizational contexts like those found in sustainable development, where neither the organization nor its stakeholders have any clear idea of the problems involved or the most appropriate means of tackling them, are still lacking.
In this paper, we put forward a method for categorizing stakeholder diversity as a means to facilitate managers’ discussions of sustainability issues. Our general contribution is to conduct a SA based on the stakeholders’ practices instead of their power and interests, the latter being a more usual focus. Our mapping method consists in codifying stakeholders’ practices within an inductive procedure that is deeply rooted in what they currently do rather than literature-driven categories. More specifically, we adapt the well-known repertory-grid technique to represent practices on qualitative scales. Using several working groups dealing with rural sustainability issues, this method has proved effective in collectively building repertories of practices and stakeholder categories. We show that the method is helpful to participants in that it extends their representations of stakeholders and helps them to reframe sustainability. While contributing to practice-based studies, this paper also contributes methodologically to empirical studies on collective problem structuring concerning sustainability issues.

Downsizing is sometimes necessary, but it always can be done better or worse. This essay reviews evidence about some of what to avoid, as well as about what to approach, in such dour (if not tragic) exercises. Whatever that case, downsizing also always involves normative or value issues, both in the choice between alternative vehicles for adverse personnel actions as well as in the global question: Why downsize? As a sampler, three points illustrate what is best avoided in downsizing experiences. Thus, they should strive hard to "let in the sunshine," but commonly trend toward secretive cabals at the highest levels. Moreover, cutback commonly is used as an all-purpose tool, with major costs. Relatedly, downsizing often penalizes the relatively blameless, which implies both value and ethical shortfalls. What downsizing should emphasize gets illustrated by five exemplars. Thus, buy-in should be sought, early and late, and especially at operating levels; the range of adverse personnel actions should be enlarged; appropriate problems should be targeted, but downsizing often sets in motion counterproductive dynamics; useful infrastructures should be built, but seldom are; and downsizing hosts should be oriented toward learning from the past, in principle and especially in practice.

Does market orientation affect new product performance? a meta-analytic approach.
Due to the strategic importance and the high failure rates of new product introduction, the link between market orientation and new product performance has been largely investigated. All studies do not lead to a conclusive link and it seems difficult to generalize observed results. This meta-analysis (1) clearly establishes the positive and significant effect of market orientation on new product performance, (2) presents some methodological moderators of this relationship,(3) induces a set of managerial recommendations relative to market orientation implementation.

The Relationship between Market Orientation and New Product Performance: The Forgotten Role of Development Team Diversity
Several meta-analyses highlight the benefits of market orientation for organizational performance. However, results diverge regarding its impact on new product performance. This fact calls for investigation of new moderators for this causal relationship. We hypothesize a moderation effect of competency diversity in new product development teams. We indeed observe this moderation and its specific effects on each dimension of market orientation (customer orientation, competitors and technology).

La pyramide des âges des dirigeants français (« papy boom ») nécessite le développement de la transmission des Petites et des Moyennes Entreprises (PME), tant par des reprises d’entreprises liées à des personnes physiques que par des opérations de croissance externe déclenchées par des entreprises.
Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de cet article est de mieux comprendre la genèse du projet de rachat d’entreprises chez les dirigeants français. Les modèles mentaux développés lors de cette phase ont un impact majeur dans la suite du processus. A la croisée de différentes théories ancrées dans le champ de la cognition entrepreneuriale, l’article propose une modélisation du processus de constitution des modèles mentaux développés par les dirigeants à propos du rachat d’entreprises. Une étude empirique est réalisée auprès des membres du réseau du Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants. Les 245 réponses obtenues conduisent à élaborer une classification qui fournit une représentation des modèles mentaux développés par les dirigeants en matière de rachat d’entreprises. Certains liens sont ensuite mis en lumière entre ces différents modèles mentaux et les intentions et comportements des dirigeants s’agissant du rachat d’entreprises.

With the retirement of the baby boomers, much work is needed to promote the transfer of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in France, whether through acquisitions by a natural person or by a company.
The purpose of this research is to understand the genesis of the small business acquisition process among French managers. The research is based on the assumption that the mental models developed at this stage of the process have a major impact on subsequent stages. This paper draws on several theories rooted in the field of entrepreneurial cognition to propose a model of how managers form mental models of small business acquisition. It presents the results of an empirical study conducted among members of the network of the Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants (Center for Young Managers). First, based on the 245 responses received, this article introduces a classification of managers’ mental models of small business acquisition. Second, our research examines various relationships between the managers’ mental models and their intentions and behaviors in the area of small business acquisition.

Corporate downsizing has been implemented by a large number of American firms in an effort to become more flexible and responsive to increased competition. The results associated with these downsizings have not been as stellar as researchers and practitioners had hoped. In fact, fewer than half of downsized firms reported achieving any reduction in costs (Hitt, Keats, Harback and Nixon, 1994). In addition to these dismal financial indicators, the effects of downsizing on the remaining employees have been substantial, including increased stress, reduced career opportunities and decreased company loyalty. This article looks at the possibility that person-based compensation systems such as skill/competency based pay or broad banding may alleviate some of the problems associated with both the poor financial performance and the negative impact on survivors of downsizing. By encouraging employees to acquire new skills and knowledge, person-based pay programs may foster the development of a highly flexible workforce. Employees with wider skills may prove valuable to downsized firms coping with large losses in organizational knowledge and memory.

Résumé : Cet article a pour objectif de comprendre comment des étudiants salariés gèrent l’articulation entre les sphères professionnelles et scolaires. Se fondant sur une enquête par questionnaire auprès de 303 étudiants salariés français, il montre que les stratégies d’ajustement mises en oeuvre pour faire face au stress né du conflit de rôle travail/école se révèlent dans l’ensemble efficaces, à l’exception de l’auto-accusation et de la répression cognitive. Au-delà, un enchaînement négatif émerge : il lie le conflit travail/école au stress et à l’intention de quitter. Dépassant les schémas explicatifs unidimensionnels, qui valorisent un étudiant contraint ou acteur de son développement professionnel, cette recherche suggère une réaction au conflit de rôles contingent en articulant ajustement de confrontation et gestion de l’émotion.

Abstract : This article aims to shed light on the ways in which working students marry their work and school activities. On the basis of questionnaire responses garnered from 303 working French students, it shows that coping strategies implemented to deal with the stress which arises from the work-school conflict are generally effective, with the exceptions of self-accusation and cognitive repression. Furthermore, a negative relationship between work-school conflict, stress and turnover intention emerges. This study goes beyond mere one-dimensional illustrations which portray students as being under pressure or taking action to foster their own professional development, and instead suggests a combined response to role conflict which involves both confronting the conflict and managing emotions.

Résumé : Cet article a pour objectif de comprendre en quoi les stratégies de gestion de la tension idéologique vécues par les Enseignants Chercheurs Critiques (ECCs) en Ecoles de Commerce sont porteuses de changements dans leur fonctionnement. Nous cherchons à identifier d’une part la nature de ces changements et d’autre part les facteurs les facilitant ou les handicapant. Le cadre théorique des radicaux tempérés est mobilisé dans une enquête par entretiens semi directifs auprès de 17 ECCs d’Ecoles de Commerce en France. Cette recherche fait ressortir deux postures (oppositionnelle et activiste) adoptées par les ECCs dans leur rapport à leur Ecole de Commerce. La première conduit l’ECC à une marginalisation plus ou moins douloureuse avec peu de résultats au-delà de cas individuels. Avec la seconde, l’ECC acquière une autonomie relative qui lui permet d’exercer une certaine influence dans le fonctionnement de son école tant sur un plan individuel que collectif. Nos résultats montrent que la posture oppositionnelle se fonde sur un usage défensif d’un nombre réduit de ressources. A l’inverse, la posture activiste repose sur un travail de conviction complexe mobilisant des ressources relationnelles, académiques et institutionnelles sans lesquelles la tâche devient difficile.

Abstract : The present article aims to explore how strategies to manage the ideological tension experienced by Critical Management Scholars (CMSars) in Business Schools can lead to changes in the way the School is run. We firstly attempt to identify the nature of such changes and, secondly, the factors which facilitate or impede them. We use the theoretical framework of tempered radicals in a survey involving semi-directive interviews with 17 CMSars from French Business Schools. Our study identifies two positions, the oppositional and the activist, which are adopted by CMSars in their relationship with their Business School. The first position leads the CMSars to more or less distressing marginalisation, with little impact apart from a few individual cases. In the second scenario, the CMSars acquire relative autonomy, which enables them to wield a degree of influence in the way their School is run both at individual and collective level. Our findings indicate that the oppositional position is based on the defensive use of a limited number of resources. On the other hand, the activist position is underpinned by a complex attempt at persuasion, which brings into play relational, academic and institutional resources, without which the task is much more difficult.

Résumé : Cet article poursuit un double objectif : valider et enrichir les derniers élargissements théoriques du modèle Exit, Voice, Loyalty, Neglect (EVLN) et identifier les ressources mobilisées par les acteurs utilisant les différentes options. Les résultats d’une enquête longitudinale auprès de 38 intérimaires de plus de 45 ans confirment la pertinence des distinctions entre Exits effectif et envisagé, Voices passive et active, Loyalties passive et active et l’extension conceptuelle du Cynicism. Deux nouvelles options émergent : l’Exit rêvé et le Neglect brutal. L’étude dynamique des options entre les phases de démarrage de la relation avec l’employeur et de l’installation fait émerger plusieurs trajectoires types qui soulignent le développement des options destructives (Cynicism, Neglect et Exit) au détriment de celles constructives (Voice et Loyalty). Différentes variables et ressources mobilisées (satisfaction passée, alternatives professionnelles faibles, ambitions professionnelles, contraintes financières fortes) aident à comprendre la variété des formes de la dynamique globale de destruction de la relation avec l’employeur.

Abstract : The purpose of this article is twofold: to evaluate and enrich the latest theoretical developments of the EVLN model and to identify resources mobilized by respondents who use its different options. The results of a longitudinal survey involving 38 temporary workers over the age of 45 confirms the relevance of distinctions between actual and planned exits, passive and active voices, passive and active loyalties and the conceptual extension of cynicism. Two new options emerge: imagined exit and brutal neglect. The dynamic study of how these options evolve (from the beginning of the relationship with an employer until the employee has settled in) brings to light several key trajectories that show the prominent development of destructive options (cynicism, neglect and exit) to the detriment of constructive options (voice and loyalty). A number of variables and mobilized resources (past satisfaction, few alternative job opportunities, professional ambitions, severe financial constraints) help us to understand the diversity of this global dynamic of destruction in an employee-employer relationship.

Data from a cross-industry sample confirm the effects of different organizational structures on dynamic capabilities in alliance settings. Our work integrates the literatures pertinent to organizational structure and the learning and creativity processes that characterize dynamic capabilities in alliances. Our results suggest that centralized structures in alliances hinder creativity and learning, and that formalization impedes learning in alliances. Supporting the arguments put forward by authors such as Burns and Stalker (1961), our results suggest that mechanistic structures in alliance teams hinder the development of dynamic capabilities, whereas organic structures are more conducive in these interorganizational settings.

Resource-based research sustains that organisations (and thus teams) create value through internally developed and complementary acquired resources, through the management of resources and the development of routines. In this study, we advance the understanding of the impact of resources and capabilities by investigating the role of moderators on the key factors of team performance and address the question of when the whole is more than the sum of its parts. We develop and test hypotheses as to how managerial experience helps to foster the development of internal resources and group routines, to extract more value from bought resources, how internally developed resources reinforce group routines and how financial resources influence group routines, the acquisition of resources and the development of internal resources. Data consisted of 270 observations from European professional football leagues over a five-year period. The results confirm that the edifice of competitive advantage is based on a complex resource bundle based on non-obvious interactions between its elements. The complex inter-linkages, reinforcing effects and trade-offs between resources require non-obvious decisions regarding their employment and are best understood by experienced managers.

Over the past decade a number of analysts have argued that we have seen the end of the traditional managerial career. In this paper we examine how various types of downsizing affect the organizational career systems. We take the career system perspective of Sonnenfeld and Peiperl (1988) and examine how delayering, earlier retirement and other common forms of downsizing disrupt or reinforce these career systems. This analysis together with that of Evans, Gunz and Jalland (1997) provides us with a framework to help managers understand the impact of downsizing on careers and select modes of downsizing that will sustain or reorient the career systems of their organizations.

The papers that comprise this Special Issue represent a variety of attempts at exploring the potential contributions to careers scholarship that might emerge from applying concepts and models from the so-called "new sciences," a term widely used to denote a large area of enquiry in the physical and complexity sciences. This article introduces the special issue. It explains its origins, and defines the territory that it covers, specifically, the kinds of career on which the articles focus, the meaning of the term "new science," and the kind of connections that we believe can be made between the two. Finally, we briefly introduce each of the papers in the Special Issue.

We respond to the points raised by Baruch in his critique of our introduction. We believe the critique is helpful because it directs our attention to some important questions that need addressing when applying ideas from one branch of science to another. We argue that there is value in looking elsewhere for ideas, provided that it is done carefully and with rigour.

This paper seeks to understand the dynamics of career systems by exploring how the study of other complex systems can shed light on the complex careers that are becoming increasingly the norm. We begin by defining career systems as a set of work roles and the influx of people occupying those roles, within an organization or in "boundaryless" industries. Then, we explain numerous patterns in career systems --described as "self-organization"-- through rigorous metaphors drawn from studies of "self-organized criticality" (Bak, 1995) and adaptation in interconnected networks (Kauffman, 1993). Implications for strategic human resource management and careers research are identified.

El presente trabajo muestra la idoneidad de la aplicación del Modelo de Gestión de Calidad Total como un enfoque que permite dotar a las decisiones adoptadas por la dirección de la empresa no sólo de eficacia, eficiencia y creación de valor económico, sino también de un comportamiento ético y socialmente responsable. Este modelo perfila la empresa como un conjunto de grupos de interés, integrado por clientes, trabajadores, proveedores, sociedad y capital, orientando la actuación global de la compañía hacia la satisfacción de las necesidades de todos y cada uno de los grupos. Empleando este marco de análisis, se estudia el caso de Mercadona, empresa española del sector de distribución comercial, que ha hecho compatible el desarrollo de un extraordinario modelo económico de crecimiento y desarrollo con la consecución de unos niveles de comportamiento ético y de responsabilidad social sobresalientes, los cuales han sido así reconocidos y valorados tanto a nivel nacional como internacional.

Cet article tente de déconstruire deux mythes managériaux en place depuis longtemps : celui du dirigeant « froid » et celui du comité de direction « aseptisé ». Le comité de direction est abordé comme un groupe susceptible d’affronter des événements problématiques. En se fondant sur différents travaux de recherche issus de ce que les chercheurs appellent « la révolution affective» et en s’appuyant sur les témoignages de 40 dirigeants de grandes entreprises en France, nous proposons un modèle théorique – le modèle de contagion émotionnelle (MCE) – qui place le management des émotions comme facteur de performance au sein du comité de direction. Le MCE articule l’intelligence émotionnelle du dirigeant et sa communication verbale en situation problématique. Le modèle débouche sur des propositions de recherche concernant les caractéristiques que prend cette communication en fonction de l’intelligence émotionnelle du dirigeant, les effets de cette communication sur les membres du comité de direction, et l’effet résultant sur le comité dans son ensemble.

This article aims at debunking the myths of the «cold» CEO and of the « emotionnally dry » boardroom by investigating the impact of CEOs emotions on the group dynamics and performance of Boards of directors. Based on the «affective revolution» literature and on qualitative accounts from 40 top-level French CEOs, we propose an Emotional Contagion Model that explains why and how emotionally intelligent CEOs communicate more effectively within the boardroom in crisis situations. Testable propositions are suggested for future research.

La plupart des chercheurs s’accordent sur le fait que l’émotion est une caractéristique essentielle de la prise de décision intuitive (PDI), mais rares sont ceux qui ont étudié le phénomène de façon empirique. De ce fait, on ne sait pas précisément comment l’émotion interagit avec le processus de prise de décision. Cet article se propose de commencer à élucider le rôle de l’émotion dans la PDI par une étude empirique de type exploratoire portant sur les réalisateurs de cinéma en période de tournage. Les résultats de l’étude montrent que la PDI peut être influencée par trois types d’émotions : les émotions liées à une expertise sur la décision à prendre, les émotions liées à une expérience émotionnelle antérieure sans lien direct avec la décision, ou les émotions spontanées sans lien avec une expertise ou une expérience passée. Nous explicitons aussi les conditions d’élaboration d’une prise de décision rationnelle (PDR) ainsi que de la délégation de la prise de décision (DPD) qui remplacent parfois, et dans des circonstances bien précises, le processus de prise de décision intuitive. Nous concluons cet article en évoquant les implications tant managériales que théoriques des résultats de cette étude.

While most researchers agree that emotions play an important role in the process of intuitive decision-making (IDM), few have investigated that role empirically. This article aims at filling that gap by investigating the role of emotion in IDM through an exploratory study of movie directors in the field. The data suggests that three types of emotions can influence IDM: emotions related to expertise, emotions related to a non-task relevant experience, or spontaneous emotions that are unrelated to either expertise or past experiences. Our data also suggests the conditions under which IDM is replaced by rational decision making (RDM), or the delegation of decision making (DDM). We derive theoretical and managerial implications based on our findings.

Does market orientation affect new product performance? a meta-analytic approach.
Due to the strategic importance and the high failure rates of new product introduction, the link between market orientation and new product performance has been largely investigated. All studies do not lead to a conclusive link and it seems difficult to generalize observed results. This meta-analysis (1) clearly establishes the positive and significant effect of market orientation on new product performance, (2) presents some methodological moderators of this relationship,(3) induces a set of managerial recommendations relative to market orientation implementation.

The Relationship between Market Orientation and New Product Performance: The Forgotten Role of Development Team Diversity
Several meta-analyses highlight the benefits of market orientation for organizational performance. However, results diverge regarding its impact on new product performance. This fact calls for investigation of new moderators for this causal relationship. We hypothesize a moderation effect of competency diversity in new product development teams. We indeed observe this moderation and its specific effects on each dimension of market orientation (customer orientation, competitors and technology).

In this article, we explore tradition in the context of collaboration. We take a view of tradition as rooted in reference groups, which are conceptually distinct from membership groups. Through research in two particular collaborations supporting technology business development in the UK, we find that tradition, as a potential cause of failure or inertia, is inter-organizationally significant. We argue that insight into the nature of tradition --in particular its dynamic interplay with culture in the formation of identity-- allows participants to develop some useful language that supports more effective reflective practice in collaboration.

Ce numéro spécial propose d’appréhender la fiabilité et la résilience organisationnelles comme des dimensions de la performance. Ce faisant, il contribue à sortir ces deux dimensions du cercle des spécialistes du risque pour les inscrire dans le champ plus large du management des organisations tournées vers l’efficience économique. Les trois articles proposent des études de cas approfondies dans des secteurs variés : transport ferroviaire, petit électroménager et tourisme. Ils abordent la construction de la fiabilité et de la résilience dans les équipes projets, à travers des technologies de l’information et en tant que processus d’apprentissage post-crise. Une des contributions majeures de l’exploration des ces différents contextes est de souligner l’importance de la dimension temporelle et des dynamiques sociales dans la construction de la fiabilité et de la résilience.

Reliability and Resilience as Dimensions of Organizational Performance: introduction.
This special issue aims at a better understanding of organizational reliability and resilience as dimensions of performance. Organizational reliability and resilience are thus reframed as concepts relevant to the management of organizations seeking economic efficiency, beyond safety / risk issues. The three articles develop in-depth case studies in various industries: railway transportation, domestic appliances, and tourism. They address the construction of safety and resilience in project teams, through information technologies and as a post-crisis learning process. A major contribution of the exploration of such different contexts is to underline the importance of time and social dynamics in the construction of reliability and resilience.

Résumé: L’objectif de cet article est de contribuer à la réflexion sur la Critical Management Education (CME), en prenant appui sur la pensée de Jacques Rancière. La réflexion de ce philosophe permet en particulier d’échapper au dilemme qui habite la CME, puisqu’elle interroge très fondamentalement la posture d’autorité et d’expertise de l’enseignant critique, mais qu’elle rompt également avec l’illusion de la collaboration et du consensus avec les enseignés et les managers. En posant l’égalité comme supposition à actualiser, Rancière invite à rejeter l’appropriation que recèle un savoir d’expertise et l’assignation des places qu’il présuppose. Sur cette base, on peut alors reconfigurer l’espace du management et de la formation au management, comme lieu propice à l’irruption du dissensus, pour politiser ce qui était neutralisé, et faire entendre la voix de ceux qui ne comptent pas.

Abstract: This paper aims to contribute to the literature on Critical Management Education (CME) by drawing on the work of philosopher, Jacques Rancière, whose thinking provides a means of resolving the dilemma underlying CME. It raises fundamental questions regarding the position of authority and the expertise of the critical educator, while at the same time dispelling the illusion of collaboration and consensus with students and managers. By presenting equality as an assumption to be actualised, Rancière invites us to reject the appropriation harboured by expert knowledge and the assignation of positions that this implies. On this basis, we can restructure the place of management and management education as a fertile ground for the emergence of dissensus in order to politicise what was neutralised and to give voice to those who have no voice.

As the members of an organizational field adopt similar practices, considerable variation in enactment can ensue. Field-level theories, however, do not yet explain how and why organizations vary in their use of standard practices. To tackle this issue, we focus on the infiltration of managerial practices into a sector traditionally motivated by norms of charity, using data drawn from a random sample of 200 nonprofit organizations. We first carry out an inductive content analysis of interviews with executive directors (EDs) about their use of strategic planning, which reveals three main rationales for adoption— associational, managerial, and opportunistic—and two outcomes—symbolic adoption and symbolic implementation. We then use Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to consider which combinations of organizational attributes and rationales are associated with the outcomes of decoupling or routinization. Our study shows creative yet patterned possibilities in the uses of a standard practice, with both adoption and implementation taking on symbolic meaning. The findings afford a deeper understanding of how multiple forms of decoupling can be used to understand micro-processes of variation, extending research on divergent outcomes of field-wide isomorphic pressures.

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar cómo influye la exploración y la explotación de conocimiento en el resultado de las adquisiciones y el papel que el conflicto juega en esa relación. Proponemos que el nivel de conflicto tanto preadquisición como postadquisición tiene dos caras. Por un lado, una cara negativa, desarrollada en muchos trabajos, que implica que el conflicto reduce el nivel de explotación de conocimiento generado tras una adquisición. Por otro lado, una cara positiva, ausente hasta ahora de la literatura, que defiende que el conflicto impulsa el nivel de exploración en una adquisición. A través de una muestra de 74 adquisiciones demostramos que la creación de valor está relacionada con el nivel de exploración y el nivel de explotación de la adquisición y que el conflicto que se produce en una adquisición tiene un efecto positivo sobre la exploración.

Over the past decade a number of analysts have argued that we have seen the end of the traditional managerial career. In this paper we examine how various types of downsizing affect the organizational career systems. We take the career system perspective of Sonnenfeld and Peiperl (1988) and examine how delayering, earlier retirement and other common forms of downsizing disrupt or reinforce these career systems. This analysis together with that of Evans, Gunz and Jalland (1997) provides us with a framework to help managers understand the impact of downsizing on careers and select modes of downsizing that will sustain or reorient the career systems of their organizations.

This paper aims at understanding organizational boundaries in their different dimensions : internal and external, horizontal and vertical, static and dynamic. It first gives a definition of the phenomenon : a boundary is a potential or actual mechanism that rarefies or regulates flows between two heterogeneous spaces, and makes these flows visible. It then formulates three propositions :
1. There are no such things as « natural boundaries ». Organizational boundaries are the result of decisions about capability units that are always debated.
2. Once established, boundaries tend to be stable and to become entrenched.
3. Even when they are entrenched, boundaries remain debatable. When controversies intensity, strategies aiming at changing the boundaries develop, and strategies aiming at maintaining them develop in response. A case study allows a discussion of these propositions. The selected case is the Air Traffic Management industry in Europe. The authors have been working on it for more than ten years. The main points this article makes are the following: The concept of capability unit is related to the idea that there are no such things as « natural » boundaries. When managers define a boundary, be it internal or external, they think of a capability, and this is done in a context of causal ambiguity. Boundaries are the object of a decision and are always debatable and debated. They induce a rarefaction of the financial, informational, and other flows, and this rarefaction can vary in intensity over time. Once defined, boundaries tend to sediment and become entrenched. In such a process, the asynchrony of decisions made in different areas, such as technology, human resources, and organization of sub-activities, plays a key role. As the environment evolves, controversies concerning the perimeter of the capability units may intensify and some actors may develop strategies aimed at changing the boundaries. These strategies will pertain to the boundaries of a few capability units, or to a large set of boundaries. In the latter case, the strategy, which can be characterized as “architectural”, would be developed by an actor with a particular status. This actor would belong to several organizational fields and would therefore not be constrained by the same symbolic boundaries as actors who belong to one field alone. Such a strategy entails a willingness to impose synchrony to other actors in the industry. The dynamics of displacing the boundaries relies on two processes.

Does market orientation affect new product performance? a meta-analytic approach.
Due to the strategic importance and the high failure rates of new product introduction, the link between market orientation and new product performance has been largely investigated. All studies do not lead to a conclusive link and it seems difficult to generalize observed results. This meta-analysis (1) clearly establishes the positive and significant effect of market orientation on new product performance, (2) presents some methodological moderators of this relationship,(3) induces a set of managerial recommendations relative to market orientation implementation.

This paper explores collaboration in one innovative project in a production company. The focus is on one particular relationship - that between change agents and project participants with the emphasis on the relations of power between the life forms of ordinary project participants and the change discourse applied. Drawing on Wittgenstein's concept of "language games" and Foucault's concept of "power", this case demonstrates how the change discourse constructs its own image of who the participants are, and how these constructions shape the main content of the change project. Rather than becoming employee-driven and guided with reference to employee identities and life forms, project participants and project activities are constructed by concepts, methods and techniques that are opposed to the extant identities and life forms within the company.

This article introduces the special issue on collaboration. It addresses the various perspectives on intra- and interorganizational collaboration, highlighting tensions, both in practice and research. It then presents the articles composing this special issue.

Communities of practice have been presented as the panacea of organizational learning. Building up on three case studies in different organizations characterized by different internal contexts, this article pushes the logic one step further by arguing that communities of practice can also be unique collaboration spaces within bureaucracies. Their main property is the ambiguity of their relationship with organizational control mechanisms and structures. Communities play with the rules, they can be adaptable and resilient and as such can build resilience within the organization. But this ambiguity, being the foundation of their capacity to introduce cooperation within organizations, is also difficult to maintain. Cultivating communities of practice thus becomes a delicate task for managers who must be able to adopt complex and contradictory behaviours. Five roles that can be fulfilled by management are analysed: stimulation, facilitation, support, control and recognition. Far from the generic recommendations that can be found in the literature to date, the findings indicate that the degree of intervention from management is highly dependent on the internal organizational context. This article thus provides a contingent framework to the cultivation of communities of practice.

This article introduces the special issue on interorganizational relationships. It presents the articles composing this special issue.

Après avoir exploré l'utilisation du concept de situation en management dans la lignée du travail de Girin, nous montrons que ce concept permet d'analyser de manière pertinente des activités managériales structurantes comme la construction du sens et la prise de décision. Le concept permet de comprendre comment s'organise la maîtrise de phénomènes dont l'essence et les frontières sont mal définies, qui doivent être gérés sous contraintes de temps et de connaissances. Nous montrons que l'enquête (dans la philosophie pragmatiste de Dewey), à travers une succession de cadrages (dans la sociologie interactionniste de Goffman), apparaît comme une composante essentielle de l'activité managériale. Deux études de cas illustrent le concept de situation : la première porte sur la protection d'une nappe phréatique face à un risque de pollution et sur la construction progressive d'une gestion de cette situation ; la deuxième porte sur la conduite d'une salle de commande de centrale nucléaire ayant pour objectif de prévenir tout type d'incident. Dans ces deux cas, la situation et l'organisation co-émergent dans une série d'interactions où l'organisation produit des situations qui en retour la modifient. Après une discussion théorique des apports du concept, nous proposons une analyse définissant des leviers de l'action managériale.

Ce numéro spécial propose d’appréhender la fiabilité et la résilience organisationnelles comme des dimensions de la performance. Ce faisant, il contribue à sortir ces deux dimensions du cercle des spécialistes du risque pour les inscrire dans le champ plus large du management des organisations tournées vers l’efficience économique. Les trois articles proposent des études de cas approfondies dans des secteurs variés : transport ferroviaire, petit électroménager et tourisme. Ils abordent la construction de la fiabilité et de la résilience dans les équipes projets, à travers des technologies de l’information et en tant que processus d’apprentissage post-crise. Une des contributions majeures de l’exploration des ces différents contextes est de souligner l’importance de la dimension temporelle et des dynamiques sociales dans la construction de la fiabilité et de la résilience.

Reliability and Resilience as Dimensions of Organizational Performance: introduction.
This special issue aims at a better understanding of organizational reliability and resilience as dimensions of performance. Organizational reliability and resilience are thus reframed as concepts relevant to the management of organizations seeking economic efficiency, beyond safety / risk issues. The three articles develop in-depth case studies in various industries: railway transportation, domestic appliances, and tourism. They address the construction of safety and resilience in project teams, through information technologies and as a post-crisis learning process. A major contribution of the exploration of such different contexts is to underline the importance of time and social dynamics in the construction of reliability and resilience.

This paper examines the role of structural embeddedness as an organising phenomenon within interdependent networks. While conceptual and philosophical in nature, data from a longitudinal ethnographic case study of an icon tourism destination is used to illustrate new framings of this concept. This method of research enables deeper insights to be attained that add both explanation and understanding to our current appreciation of the interdependent organizing phenomena. The case data illustrate how the network has structural attributes of heterogeneity, interconnection and reciprocity that contribute to its anti-hierarchical state. This enables an infinite number of structural possibilities to occur, some of which can be developed to form strategic capabilities that belong to the network. Assisting this process, is a symbiotic and mutual participation from the interdependent actors which critiques the notion of structural redundancy. The paper illustrates how the aggregated patterns have formed in the network and how reciprocal obligation has built long term exchange patterns that contribute to forming the embedded macroculture.

As a macro-spectacle, Las Vegas represents a singular display of the problems which arise in attempting to distinguish meaningfully between "reality" and "fiction". In this article we provide an example of a discursive method to explore the interplay between "social relations" and "images" as critical facets of the realities and fictions which constitute the "Las Vegas Spectacle". Social relations are examined using the systematic application of critical discourse analysis and the specific images analyzed are Las Vegas films. An intrinsic feature of the various representations of Vegas is the notion of "compulsive consumption". The implications of the "Vegas phenomena" (i.e., the centrality of spectacle, consumption, and the collapse of fiction and reality) for the study of organizations and processes of organizing are also discussed.

We examine the influence exiles have on the cultures left behind. As people break from the familiar routines of country or organization, they look forward to their intended destinations, but also backward to the homes they are leaving. It is that backward glance that we suggest may have powerful reverberations.

This article briefly outlines the problems facing public organizations, particularly hospitals, as they attempt to survive in a turbulent environment. One solution to coping with organizational crises is downsizing. However, there are often negative effects on personnel when an organization reduces the work force or experiences major change. A model describing stages of organizational and individual crisis and coping is presented, along with suggestions for organizational development (OD) interventions to deal with these stages. One organization's experience illustrates the negative consequences of organizational downsizing on members.

This article argues that case studies conducted within an ethnographic framework always contain an element of subjectivity and emotionality given the close relationships that researchers establish with participants in the field, and that while these elements can be a source of bias, they can also be transformed into valuable sources of insight as long as they are acknowledged and examined. Through the example of a lived field experience, this paper discusses how the subjective and emotional quality of the relationship established between researcher and participant, once examined, brought a deeper level of understanding and a greater degree of objectivity to findings obtained during an ethnographic case study carried out in an entrepreneurial firm. The methodological implications of the roles played by subjectivity and emotions in this type of research are also discussed.

Three metatheoretical positions, known as individualism, holism, and systemism, are salient in management research programs. The world views of individualism and holism in particular are a matter of controversy between social scientists, leading to serious shortcomings in the prevailing research programs. As we argue in this paper, neither view is adequate. A cogent alternative to both is systemism, which integrates the valuable insights of individualism and holism without their drawbacks. The paper illustrates the specific implications of each of these world views for knowledge management research.

Partnering constitutes an important strategy for organizations to deal with increasing environmental flux. Empirical failures, however, still outweigh the theoretical promises of partnerships. At the same time, the field is characterized by a burgeoning albeit heterogeneous body of literature. This paper therefore aims to develop a comprehensive multidisciplinary lens on supply chain partnerships. By approaching partnerships as an inherently dynamic phenomenon drawing from organizational change literature, such a lens takes on a transformational nature. The lens integrates various bodies of literature by pointing out their specific change perspective as well as the transition zones between their underlying assumptions. Consequently, the transformational lens is employed to explore two case studies of supplier-producer dyads in the food industry. The findings illustrate the simultaneous presence of higher management driven change and continuous change at the middle management level. The findings also aid in drawing propositions for further empirical examination and refinement of the relationship between the underlying assumptions of the transformational lens. The transformational lens contributes by facilitating a more complete picture of partnerships than would be achieved by considering each of its constituent bodies of literature in isolation, and sheds new light on the temporal aspect of partnerships.

En dépit de l'engouement suscité, les résultats des manœuvres d'acquisition restent décevants. Cette déception est à rapprocher du manque d'attention portée à la dimension managériale des acquisitions au profit d'analyses stratégiques d'inspiration essentiellement économique. Si un certain accord existe aujourd'hui sur l'importance du management post-acquisition, des divergences subsistent quant aux principes qui doivent guider celui-ci. En utilisant la méthode des cas, la présente recherche permet de tester la pertinence des propositions en concurrence, lorsque l'acquéreur adopte une politique d'insertion de type symbiotique. La proposition selon laquelle une démarche d'inspiration rationaliste ne permet pas de gérer de façon adéquate les acquisitions de symbiose est corroborée. L'explication de ce résultat tient à la nature même des politiques de symbiose, lesquelles visent à développer des pratiques et/ou des offres innovantes dans un cadre coopératif. L'innovation conjointe revêt dans les cas observés un caractère émergent qui s'accorde mal avec une démarche d'inspiration rationaliste.
Editors' note. This article has been translated in English
Symbiotic Acquisitions: The Drawbacks of a Rational Approach
Despite their popularity, acquisitions have proved disappointing. The reason for this is that economic analyses have prevailed over the managerial dimension of the acquisitions. Although there is currently some agreement about the importance of post-acquisition management, divergences remain as to what the guiding principles should be. Our work, based on the case study method, tests the relevance of competing propositions when the acquiring firm adopts a symbiotic type of insertion policy. The proposition that a rational approach is unsuitable for managing symbiotic acquisitions is corroborated. This result can be explained by the nature of symbiosis policies, which are aimed at developing innovative practices and/or product lines in a cooperative framework. In the cases observed, such joint innovation has an emerging character which is inconsistent with a rational approach.

Forgé par Tansley en 1935 pour désigner l’unité écologique de base constituée du milieu et des organismes qui y vivent, le terme d’écosystème a été repris par Moore (1993) pour désigner des systèmes d’acteurs entretenant des relations de coopétition : les écosystèmes d’affaires (ESA). Le concept est aujourd’hui fréquemment mobilisé dans la littérature académique, sans toutefois que la définition qu’en donne Moore ait fait l’objet d’une discussion approfondie. D’orientation critique, la première partie de cette note s’attache tout d’abord à montrer la faiblesse d’une métaphore écologique qui a sans doute contribué au succès du concept, mais dont il convient aujourd’hui de s’affranchir. Elle montre ensuite que les efforts de Moore pour définir l’ESA conduisent à des contradictions et aboutit à l’idée qu’il convient, pour surmonter celles-ci, de distinguer différents types d’ESA. Outre qu’elle permet d’éviter que ne soient attribuées à l’ensemble des ESA des propriétés qui n’appartiennent qu’à certains d’entre eux, la typologie présentée dans la deuxième partie attire l’attention sur les ESA dont la composition est la plus hétérogène. La dernière partie suggère que l’étude de ces derniers gagnerait à mobiliser des théories à même d’éclairer la façon qu’ont les acteurs de s’accorder, lorsqu’ils appartiennent à des mondes différents.

This article introduces the special issue on collaboration. It addresses the various perspectives on intra- and interorganizational collaboration, highlighting tensions, both in practice and research. It then presents the articles composing this special issue.

This article introduces the special issue on interorganizational relationships. It presents the articles composing this special issue.

In this paper, we present and discuss the notion of interorganizational synthesis. Interorganizational synthesis refers to synthesis in the relationships between all organizations involved in a collaborative project. Synthesis is critical if organizations are fully to leverage the benefits of interorganizational collaboration in complex environments. Reviewing other research in management, in areas such as culture, rationality, and language, we show that collaboration is a far more complex task than economic or contractual theories suggest. We then present ten critical building blocks that must be accounted for in the design of interorganizational relations if synthesis is to be realised. Each of these blocks is discussed and the potential risks, and management implications, are also presented.

In the past few years, a new wave of downsizing has been observed. This wave began during the economic recession of the early 1990s and has continued during the subsequent years of economic growth. While the espoused purpose of this wave of downsizing is to reduce costs and increase "competitiveness," empirical research raises doubts about whether these goals have actually been achieved. Downsizing may also have serious negative consequences for the employees who lose their jobs, for their families, and for the employees who survive the restructuring process. Despite these outcomes, downsizing appears to have become institutionalized among executives as a taken-for-granted way of managing organizations. The cognitive rigidity that this suggests makes it important to discuss alternatives to corporate downsizing. The Volkswagen (VW) Company is an important example of such an alternative, because of its innovative policy of preserving employment in Germany. This paper describes the genesis and implementation of that personnel policy, showing that discontinuities in the corporate environment do not always have to be dealt with by means of mass layoffs. Profits and social responsibility do not necessarily have to be competing goals, but can sometimes be jointly accomodated by using appropriate human resource management programs.

This article aims to convey the promise and potential of visual methods in organizational research. It begins by reviewing the status of visual research in the social sciences in order to explore its potential contribution to organizational research, distinguishing four categories of visual data used by organizational analysts. Using examples from our own ongoing research, we argue that the collection and analysis of visual images has the potential to enhance organizational research by encouraging a focus on aspects of organizational culture that are less easily captured through the collection and analysis of written or spoken words alone. We review the challenges posed by use of visual methods, including issues of access, ethics and copyright law and the importance of theoretical perspective in informing data analysis. Finally, we argue that visual methods have the potential to enable development of a more reflexive approach to organizational research, using examples from our own research to illustrate how this can be developed.

This article investigates the relationship between ownership structure and corporate diversification strategy. It focuses on the potential conflict of interest between shareholders and managers regarding diversification, and tests the resolution of such conflict by shareholder monitoring and then by the alignment of managers’ behaviour with that of shareholders. The study is original in that it is conducted on a population of large French companies, makes a clear distinction between insider and outsider ownership, and compares related diversification strategies to conglomerate strategies. The research shows that the effect of monitoring by outside blockholders is clear, leading to related diversification at the expense of unrelated diversification strategies. However, an increase in managerial ownership, far from leading to alignment, leads to managerial behaviour that goes against the interests of shareholders and more precisely to unrelated diversification strategies.

This paper presents the results of a survey of 74 owner-managed small companies in Alicante (Spain), exploring the existence and performance implications of new venture competitive strategies. A factor analytic procedure and cluster analysis confirmed the existence of multiple strategies which new venture firms follow. Four strategic clusters of firms were uncovered: 1/ Differentiation, 2/ Innovation, 3/ Product Offering, and 4/ Aggressive Growth with Narrow Special Products. A Scheffé posteriori contrast test revealed different "performance patterns" between these clusters.

In this preface to the special issue on "Doing Case Study Research in Organizations" we define case study research, review common themes and discuss future directions. We note the value of personal research stories and reflexivity in enriching understanding of case study research practice and draw attention to the opportunities associated with broadening the definition of what may constitute valuable data. We also discuss approaches to obtaining access and review some ethical dilemmas of case study research. Finally, we underline the need for further reflection on the role of computer analysis aids, on modes of writing and communication, and on ensuring quality in a context of epistemological diversity.

Institutional work concerns the way in which the activities of actors contribute to the evolution of institutions, whether through their creation, disruption or maintenance. In this paper, we argue that the notion of “test”, as developed by conventionalist theory, provides an innovative lens through which to examine the nature of institutional work and the evolution of institutions. Conventionalist theory posits that constitutive value frameworks guide individuals’ behaviors and provide the legitimating systems for their actions. It pays particular attention to moments of questioning of these value frameworks, and how they may affect existing legitimate practices and principles. Such moments of test provide a remarkable opportunity for understanding institutional work as they allow a close examination of three key dimensions associated with actors’ questioning or reproduction of constitutive value frameworks: agency, relationality and temporality. We suggest that an analytical focus on moments of test can foster more systematic attention to these dimensions, and productively contribute to ongoing research on how and why institutions may be disrupted, maintained, or created in a diversity of situations.

During the last years, a consensus is emerging that to survive in the competitive turbulence that is engulfing a growing number of industries, firms will need to pinpoint innovative practices rapidly, to communicate them to their suppliers and to stimulate further innovation. In order to be competitive, companies are forced to adopt less hierarchical and more flexible structures, and to define strategies able to combine reduced costs, high quality, flexibility and a quick answer to customer requirements. Nowadays, there are very few companies with enough resources to form its value chain on their own. Therefore, some changes are taking place within individual companies and in their relations with other organizations, creating new structures in which relationships between customers and suppliers are suffering considerable changes. One of these changes is concerned with the formation of networks in which there is a division of labour that allows each company to exploit their distinctive advantages, and be more competitive globally. In a network model, a set of juridically independent companies establish cooperative long term links in order to achieve a higher level of competitiveness. The enterprises that belong to a network have not all the elements needed for manufacturing a product or providing a service under their absolute control. Therefore, the success of this kind of structures is conditioned by the coordination degree obtained along the realization of inter-organizational activities, which requires an efficient communication system among the partners. The Information Technology (IT) represents a supportive element that facilitates the transfer of information across organizational boundaries. In this paper we analyze the inclusion of the Interorganizational Information Systems (IOS) concept within the network model and discuss the role IT plays in enabling organizational transformation towards emergent forms of organization.

Cet article tente de déconstruire deux mythes managériaux en place depuis longtemps : celui du dirigeant « froid » et celui du comité de direction « aseptisé ». Le comité de direction est abordé comme un groupe susceptible d’affronter des événements problématiques. En se fondant sur différents travaux de recherche issus de ce que les chercheurs appellent « la révolution affective» et en s’appuyant sur les témoignages de 40 dirigeants de grandes entreprises en France, nous proposons un modèle théorique – le modèle de contagion émotionnelle (MCE) – qui place le management des émotions comme facteur de performance au sein du comité de direction. Le MCE articule l’intelligence émotionnelle du dirigeant et sa communication verbale en situation problématique. Le modèle débouche sur des propositions de recherche concernant les caractéristiques que prend cette communication en fonction de l’intelligence émotionnelle du dirigeant, les effets de cette communication sur les membres du comité de direction, et l’effet résultant sur le comité dans son ensemble.

This article aims at debunking the myths of the «cold» CEO and of the « emotionnally dry » boardroom by investigating the impact of CEOs emotions on the group dynamics and performance of Boards of directors. Based on the «affective revolution» literature and on qualitative accounts from 40 top-level French CEOs, we propose an Emotional Contagion Model that explains why and how emotionally intelligent CEOs communicate more effectively within the boardroom in crisis situations. Testable propositions are suggested for future research.

Ce numéro spécial propose d’appréhender la fiabilité et la résilience organisationnelles comme des dimensions de la performance. Ce faisant, il contribue à sortir ces deux dimensions du cercle des spécialistes du risque pour les inscrire dans le champ plus large du management des organisations tournées vers l’efficience économique. Les trois articles proposent des études de cas approfondies dans des secteurs variés : transport ferroviaire, petit électroménager et tourisme. Ils abordent la construction de la fiabilité et de la résilience dans les équipes projets, à travers des technologies de l’information et en tant que processus d’apprentissage post-crise. Une des contributions majeures de l’exploration des ces différents contextes est de souligner l’importance de la dimension temporelle et des dynamiques sociales dans la construction de la fiabilité et de la résilience.

Reliability and Resilience as Dimensions of Organizational Performance: introduction.
This special issue aims at a better understanding of organizational reliability and resilience as dimensions of performance. Organizational reliability and resilience are thus reframed as concepts relevant to the management of organizations seeking economic efficiency, beyond safety / risk issues. The three articles develop in-depth case studies in various industries: railway transportation, domestic appliances, and tourism. They address the construction of safety and resilience in project teams, through information technologies and as a post-crisis learning process. A major contribution of the exploration of such different contexts is to underline the importance of time and social dynamics in the construction of reliability and resilience.

This article investigates the relationship between ownership structure and corporate diversification strategy. It focuses on the potential conflict of interest between shareholders and managers regarding diversification, and tests the resolution of such conflict by shareholder monitoring and then by the alignment of managers’ behaviour with that of shareholders. The study is original in that it is conducted on a population of large French companies, makes a clear distinction between insider and outsider ownership, and compares related diversification strategies to conglomerate strategies. The research shows that the effect of monitoring by outside blockholders is clear, leading to related diversification at the expense of unrelated diversification strategies. However, an increase in managerial ownership, far from leading to alignment, leads to managerial behaviour that goes against the interests of shareholders and more precisely to unrelated diversification strategies.

Cet article s’intéresse au processus de désinstitutionnalisation d’un Evénement Configurateur de Champ (ECC) ainsi qu’aux conséquences de cette désinstitutionnalisation sur un champ organisationnel. Pour ce faire, nous avons réalisé une étude historiographique de la désinstitutionnalisation du Salon de Paris. Cet ECC central a structuré le champ des Beaux-Arts en France pendant plus de deux siècles avant de décliner progressivement à la fin du 19ème siècle. D’un point de vue théorique, les résultats mettent en évidence un processus de désinstitutionnalisation des ECCs résultant de l’interaction et de la dynamique de plusieurs facteurs que sont des contradictions internes à l’ECC, l’émergence d’un travail institutionnel de mise en place d’alternatives, la constitution d’une masse critique puis le développement de pressions institutionnelles incitant à abandonner l’ECC. Cette étude permet également d’analyser l’impact important du déclin d’un ECC sur la structure, la répartition et la nature du pouvoir et surtout sur la temporalité dans un champ. Enfin, elle permet d’apporter des contributions à l’étude du processus de désinstitutionnalisation en général. D’un point de vue managérial, cette étude suggère qu’afin d’éviter le déclin d’un ECC, ses promoteurs doivent s’organiser pour intégrer l’innovation.

The Decline and Fall of the Paris Salon: a Study of the Deinstitutionalization Process of a Field Configuring Event in the Cultural Activities
This article examines the deinstitutionalization of a Field Configuring Event (FCE) and the consequences of this deinstitutionalization for an organizational field. To this end, we carried out a historiographical study of the deinstitutionalization of the Paris Salon. This pivotal FCE was the central event of the Beaux-Arts field in France for over two centuries before its progressive decline at the end of the 19th Century. From a theoretical point of view, our results show that the deinstitutionalization process of FCEs is the result of the interaction and dynamics of several factors, notably, the internal contradictions of the FCE, the emergence of alternatives resulting from institutional developments, and the constitution of a critical mass, followed by the development of institutional pressures that encourage the abandonment of the FCE. This study also enables us to analyze the impact of an FCE’s decline on the structure, distribution and nature of power, and especially on temporality within a field. Finally, it contributes to the study of the deinstitutionalization process in general. From a managerial point of view, this study suggests that promoters must organize themselves to integrate innovation, in order to avoid the decline of the FCE.

Resource-based research sustains that organisations (and thus teams) create value through internally developed and complementary acquired resources, through the management of resources and the development of routines. In this study, we advance the understanding of the impact of resources and capabilities by investigating the role of moderators on the key factors of team performance and address the question of when the whole is more than the sum of its parts. We develop and test hypotheses as to how managerial experience helps to foster the development of internal resources and group routines, to extract more value from bought resources, how internally developed resources reinforce group routines and how financial resources influence group routines, the acquisition of resources and the development of internal resources. Data consisted of 270 observations from European professional football leagues over a five-year period. The results confirm that the edifice of competitive advantage is based on a complex resource bundle based on non-obvious interactions between its elements. The complex inter-linkages, reinforcing effects and trade-offs between resources require non-obvious decisions regarding their employment and are best understood by experienced managers.

Les réseaux interorganisationnels (RIO) sont désormais devenus des éléments incontournables de la vie économique. Depuis une vingtaine d'années, ils sont largement étudiés par les chercheurs en gestion, en économie ou encore en sociologie. Si les nombreuses recherches sur cette forme d'organisation ont permis d'aborder certains mécanismes de fonctionnement du RIO, nombre d'auteurs ont souligné le faible effet cumulatif des contributions. Ce constat est particulièrement vrai pour l'étude de l'opportunisme dans les RIO. Dans cet article, nous proposons de considérer la dimension socio-cognitive de l'opportunisme et considérons la question suivante : quels comportements de leurs partenaires les acteurs impliqués dans un réseau interorganisationnel considèrent-ils comme opportunistes ? Pour ce faire, nous étudions un RIO international du secteur du transport en combinant étude de cas et analyse de réseaux. Les résultats remettent en cause les approches traditionnelles de l'opportunisme et poussent plus loin le raisonnement des approches hétérodoxes. Les conséquences d'une approche socio-cognitive de l'opportunisme pour l'action stratégique des firmes sont également envisagées.

Over the last few years, firms have involved their customers increasingly in different goods- and services-related processes (design, production, delivery, etc.). A corollary of this trend towards increasing integration of the customer has been new organizational choices aimed at generating higher margins, either by increasing revenues or by reducing costs. In other words, thinking about the ways in which the customer can and should be mobilized has mirrored fundamental changes in business models (BMs). However, the academic literature on the BM concept has remained relatively scarce so far (Demil & Lecocq, 2008). In particular, it seems that no study has thus far tackled the issue of customer participation in the BM. Customer participation has been the focus of much research in the field of services marketing and management. This literature considers the customer as an active player, going beyond traditional perspectives of the customer as a mere buyer Still, the customer’s impact on the firm’s ability to generate revenues, and thus on the firm’s BM, remains unknown. This paper aims to provide a theoretical framework for the way in which firms can and should integrate their customers into their BM. Combining BM and customer participation literatures, we develop a theoretical framework for what we label the “Customer-Integrated Business Model” (CIBM), a generic BM based on customer participation. Our model relies on the RCOV (Resources and Competences, Organization, Value Proposition) of Demil & Lecocq, 2010. In a CIBM, the customer is considered as a resource. This has significant consequences, both on the two other components (Value Proposition and Organization) and on the interrelations between the three parts of the model. We exemplify this theoretical framework with two case studies based on secondary data. We conclude by addressing the potential limitations of CIBM.

L’objectif de cet article est de montrer, à travers une étude de cas, les difficultés inhérentes à la genèse et au déploiement d’un nouveau business model dans une entreprise existante. Cette recherche s’appuie sur l’étude de Valtis, société de transport de fonds. Son PDG a contribué à introduire sur le marché un système innovant reposant non plus sur la sécurisation des biens mais sur la suppression de la convoitise : les fonds ne sont plus transportés en fourgons blindés mais placés dans des conteneurs sécurisés, véhiculés par des hommes sans arme circulant en voiture banalisée. L’article montre qu’au-delà de l’innovation technologique, il s’agit en fait d’un business model radicalement nouveau. Il met également en lumière l’apprentissage en double boucle nécessaire à sa genèse ainsi que les difficultés induites par la coexistence des deux business models (l’ancien et le nouveau), pendant et après la phase d’expérimentation stratégique. Plus généralement, l’article vise à mettre en évidence comment la notion de business model permet de revisiter la question de la régénération stratégique.

Creation and Implementation of a New Business Model: a Disarming Case Study.
The purpose of this article is to show through a case study the inherent difficulties in creating and implementing a new business model in an existing firm. This research is based on a study of Valtis, a French security transportation firm whose CEO helped to introduce onto the market an innovative system based not on securing goods but on removing temptation: money is no longer carried in armored vehicles but is placed in secure containers, transported by unarmed men traveling in unmarked cars. The article shows that as well as demonstrating technological innovation, this is in fact a radically new business model. It also highlights the double loop learning needed to create it and also the difficulties encountered when two business models (the old and the new one) coexist during and after the strategic experimentation phase. More generally, the article aims to show how the notion of business model opens up the question of strategic regeneration. .

Si les clusters se caractérisent par des pratiques partenariales vecteurs d’une forte compétitivité, certains d’entre eux rencontrent des difficultés de coordination liées à des conflits d’appropriation des bénéfices collectifs. C’est tout particulièrement le cas des bioclusters du fait de leurs particularités sectorielles et des politiques publiques à l’oeuvre. Partant d’une analyse des conflits en jeu dans un biocluster, cet article vise à saisir comment émergent et co-évoluent les stratégies des firmes et des institutions en proie à des intérêts divergents. Selon une perspective évolutionnaire, nous proposons une simulation exploratoire permettant une analyse des dynamiques d’adaptation mutuelle de ces agents. Les résultats montrent d’une part que les firmes modulent leurs stratégies de négociation en fonction de l’incertitude et de la perception qu’elles ont des gains susceptibles d’être générés collectivement, d’autre part que les collectivités territoriales jouent un rôle régulateur. Cette recherche contribue à la compréhension des modalités de management public de la coopération et de l’innovation dans les bioclusters.

This paper deals with the special structure of a particular example of interorganizational cooperation (IOC), a structure that helps to overcome many of the problems found in an IOC, thereby enabling it to function smoothly and to achieve its goals. This study is a case analysis in which we examine the underlying issues, relationships and causes that can be generalized beyond the case. The main finding is the structural principle of double rule and multiple roles in which, for every individual within the IOC, there are several formal decision-making positions --i.e., several roles-- at different hierarchical levels. The advantage of this unique structure and its contributions to the success of this example of IOC are discussed.

L’objectif de cet article est de montrer que les entreprises optent pour l’agglomération temporelle (en entrant sur un marché au même moment que leurs concurrents) lorsque l’incertitude concernant le succès de leurs produits est particulièrement importante. En effet, l’analyse des majors hollywoodiennes de 2000 à 2006 montre que ces entreprises limitent l’incertitude en adoptant des comportements similaires. Plus précisément, les résultats montrent que c’est une combinaison de facteurs qui conduit à l’agglomération des dates de sorties de films. Les budgets, les genres et la présence d’institutions temporelles (jours fériés, cérémonies, festivals, etc.) sont, en effet, utilisés comme des points de référence par les acteurs de l’industrie. Au final, plus qu’une stratégie délibérée, l’agglomération temporelle semble émerger d’interactions complexes, augmentant la compétition et réduisant ainsi la performance des films.

Les entreprises en situation de concurrence cherchent à obtenir un avantage concurrentiel en améliorant leur position par rapport à celle de leurs concurrents. Une fois cet avantage obtenu, les concurrents vont, à leur tour, chercher à obtenir leur propre avantage afin de ne pas se laisser distancer voire dépasser. S’enclenche alors, au sein d’un secteur, une dynamique dans laquelle il est nécessaire, pour les entreprises, d’investir toujours plus de ressources pour, au final, conserver une situation concurrentielle identique. Cette spirale concurrentielle est dénommée dans la littérature, Red Queen Effect (RQE). Les objectifs de cette note de recherche sont triples. Tout d’abord, il s’agit de présenter ce processus concurrentiel ainsi que les principaux résultats contradictoires mis en évidence dans la littérature. Ensuite, il s’agit de souligner les apports du RQE en le positionnant par rapport aux principaux courants de recherche en stratégie afin d’en souligner les ressemblances et divergences. Enfin, l’examen des limites permet la suggestion de travaux futurs portant sur le RQE.

Research Note: The Red Queen Effect: Principle, synthesis and implications for strategy
Organisations competing with others seek a competitive advantage by improving their position compared to that of their rivals. Once they have gained this advantage, their competitors will in turn try to obtain an advantage in order not to be overtaken or left behind. This gives rise to a dynamic within the sector that makes it necessary for firms to invest ever more resources in order ultimately to remain in an identical competitive position. In the literature, this competitive spiral is called the Red Queen Effect (RQE). The aims of our research paper are threefold. First, we present this competitive process together with the main contradictory findings available in the literature. We then attempt to identify the contributions of the RQE theory by positioning it in relation to the main streams of research in strategy in order to highlight where it is similar to them and where it differs. Finally, an examination of the limitations enables us to identify future avenues for research on the RQE.

Dramatic changes in 21st century careers have generated the need for a new set of theoretical lenses that view careers in a more dynamic, fluid way. Several characteristics of this new complexity lens that directly apply to dynamic career systems include discontinuities in career progression, non-proportionality of effects of effort, sensitive dependence on initial conditions, viewing a system in terms of constraints and triggers for change, and the impact of mutual causality of structural emergence. Two extensive case studies are presented and explained using these concepts, providing an expanded understanding of careers in management and in entrepreneurship.

This paper seeks to understand the dynamics of career systems by exploring how the study of other complex systems can shed light on the complex careers that are becoming increasingly the norm. We begin by defining career systems as a set of work roles and the influx of people occupying those roles, within an organization or in "boundaryless" industries. Then, we explain numerous patterns in career systems --described as "self-organization"-- through rigorous metaphors drawn from studies of "self-organized criticality" (Bak, 1995) and adaptation in interconnected networks (Kauffman, 1993). Implications for strategic human resource management and careers research are identified.

This paper considers the connections between pleasure and death, and the erotic force of desire which bridges them, using the work of Jean Baudrillard and Georges Bataille among others. It begins with a consideration of why people risk or desire their own annihilation, raising the issue of why Las Vegas is a place, symbolically, to which people go to die, functioning this way in particular in feature films, two of which are analysed here. The paper argues that in the valorization of the fake which becomes more real than the real, cities like Las Vegas kill the real, and are thus not sites of real pleasure or fulfilment but are mausoleums where the real is sold short. Participants in the Vegas experience participate in a spurious sense of self. The paper discusses the processes of seduction through which this is achieved, and argues that death is always present in Las Vegas because of the kitsch nature of the place, a quality of death-in-life, or living death. In the end, the only way to break through to the real is through sacrifice, a tragic endeavour involving the loss of the spurious sense of self but which may involve the loss of self altogether by risking death. Two films are analysed -- one from the US and one from the UK, to illustrate how this redemptive sacrifical process may function.

Organizational downsizing has been a major organizational strategy emphasized by managers to improve performance since the late 1980s. Despite the popularity of downsizing in organizations, the implementation of downsizing has resulted in various negative effects on employee morale. This paper examines the relationship between downsizing and trust. The paper first provides a review of the philosophy and strategies for downsizing. It then examines the impact of various downsizing strategies on employee trust and organizational trust. Lastly, the paper offers a discussion about the implications of these strategies for individuals, organizations, and society.

Cette recherche porte sur la collaboration au sein des réseaux d'innovation distants. Ces équipes-projets sont constituées d'individus dispersés géographiquement, réunis temporairement, et utilisant les technologies de l'information et de la communication comme support de communication et de mise en place du projet. La littérature consacrée aux relations entre les acteurs d'un réseau fait de la confiance le principal mode de coordination. Or, il semble admis que cette confiance s'appuie essentiellement sur la connaissance de l'autre et le face-à-face. Notre objectif est d'étudier les conditions dans lesquelles la confiance peut être un mode de coordination quand il n'y a pas d'interaction directe sur le même lieu entre les acteurs du projet d'innovation. Pour répondre à cette question, nous analysons le fonctionnement d'équipes de développement de logiciels libres associées au projet Linux. Il apparaît que l'absence d'interactions directes et simultanées limite considérablement la confiance interpersonnelle. Cette absence est compensée par une confiance institutionnelle élevée mais aussi par un dispositif formalisé de contrôle, dont la combinaison permet d'assurer un niveau de performance élevé. Aussi, nous nous éloignons des approches privilégiant la confiance comme une alternative au contrôle pour préférer un point de vue intégrateur. En particulier, le contrôle sanction peut être utilisé sans démotiver les membres de la communauté Linux parce qu'il vient compléter un système global de contrôle qui s'apparente à un contrôle social.

This paper seeks to understand the dynamics of career systems by exploring how the study of other complex systems can shed light on the complex careers that are becoming increasingly the norm. We begin by defining career systems as a set of work roles and the influx of people occupying those roles, within an organization or in "boundaryless" industries. Then, we explain numerous patterns in career systems --described as "self-organization"-- through rigorous metaphors drawn from studies of "self-organized criticality" (Bak, 1995) and adaptation in interconnected networks (Kauffman, 1993). Implications for strategic human resource management and careers research are identified.

As daily U.S. newspapers have faced increasing competition, they have experienced falling circulation and declining household penetration. In an effort to cope with the adverse changes, some newspapers have sought the advice of consultants who have advised such administered changes as total quality management and similar managed workplace transformations. While such changes have succeeded in other workplace environments, such as manufacturing, they have faced resistance in professional settings, such as newsrooms at daily newspapers. One newsroom that faced a similar administrative change was the Winston-Salem Journal, where the North Carolina daily in 1995 adopted an efficiency "grid" for newsroom professionals that was rejected in early 1996. A preliminary survey of the professional news staff at the Journal two years after the efficiency initiative was announced found that news professionals there remained strongly resistant to business-administered changes in newsroom routines and professional norms, and they strongly adhered to traditional views about the separation of business and news departments. The study also found worthy of further study suggestions that some newsroom professionals view staff cuts that coincide with administrative changes as falling within the purview of business administrators and as unrelated to professional norms and values and work routines.

El objetivo de este trabajo es tratar de clarificar el impacto que tiene sobre el desempeño empresarial la implantación de una estrategia de Supply Chain Management (SCM) teniendo en cuenta los efectos de su localización regional. Para ello, se va a emplear una muestra de 358 empresas manufactureras españolas en el periodo comprendido entre 1994 y 2001 bajo un modelo de industria básico. Los resultados muestran como el impacto de la SCM sobre la performance empresarial depende de la localización empresarial elegida. En concreto, se muestran las ventajas competitivas relacionadas con la SCM de las distintas comunidades autónomas españolas.

In an ever-changing environment, firms must also constantly change the way they do things in order to compete successfully. The Spanish textile leaders of 1992 (in comparison to 1978) have altered their organizational boundaries, favoring more complex and flexible structures, outsourcing production and procurement activities -in order to decrease production costs- and integrating their sales force and distribution channels -in order to gain knowledge from their customers. Based on a study we conducted using data from semi-structured interviews with twenty CEOs and secondary sources within leading Spanish textile companies, we found that larger firms adapted through learning whereas medium-size enterprises were subjected to ecological selection.

Des travaux de recherche récents ont mis en avant la spécificité de l’entreprise familiale sous l’angle de son capital social issu de l’interpénétration des sphères privées (la famille) et professionnelles (l’organisation). Dans le prolongement de ces nouveaux apports, nous proposons ici d’expliciter théoriquement par quel canal ce capital social de la famille peut se traduire en efficience organisationnelle, ce qui constitue pour l’instant un « chaînon manquant » dans la littérature sur les entreprises familiales. Après avoir précisé ce mécanisme, l’analyse est développée autour de deux principales sources de variation, à savoir la taille de l’entreprise et la génération impliquée – facteurs qui tendent à évoluer à travers le temps. Nous soutenons ainsi que la dilution de la famille dans la propriété ou dans la gestion et la multiplication des acteurs et des divergences d’intérêts possibles peuvent à terme finir par handicaper l’entreprise familiale en termes d’efficience organisationnelle et limiter ses capacités de survie vis à vis de l’entreprise non familiale.

This article illustrates and critically discusses how organizations manage, interact with, and involve stakeholders in social-related international accountability standards through the theoretical lens of actor-network theory. Theorizations on international accountability standards have largely focused on opportunities and problems related to their adoption from a macro-economic or governance perspective. The role of stakeholders and related management practices remain overlooked, with little evidence-based understanding of the interaction between internal and external organizational actors in multi-stakeholder involvement processes. Although overall generally relational approach to conceptualizing stakeholders is not new, this research focuses on the case of a well-known human-resource corporation and the way it involves stakeholders in a social-related accountability standard. The results reveal that gaining stakeholder involvement is a social innovation process supported by a strong network of stakeholders whose interests and agendas are taken into serious consideration by the corporation. The strength and the sustainability of the network established between the company and its stakeholders are subsequently dependent on the way the corporation translates its own interests and those of the stakeholders into common goals.

Reinventing government (REGO) reforms, once dismissed by some as a passing fad, have made inroads in the public sector. However many barriers to REGO reforms, both inside and outside of government, still exist. The authors discuss some of these barriers and also offer suggestions to overcome the resistance to change. They conclude that REGO reforms must be embraced if the public sector is to take advantage of the possibilities offered by the Information Age and advancing Information Technology (IT).

This paper aims at reframing the relevance gap debate in management science by repositioning scholar-practitioner collaboration and knowledge coproduction practices regarding knowledge relevance and impact. Based on a reflection about the nature of management knowledge, we argue that the so-called relevance gap should be more aptly reframed as a ‘traceability’ or a ‘controllability’ gap. Although management knowledge may be deemed relevant by a wide range of practitioners, the ways these practitioners use management knowledge are hardly visible, let alone controllable. Scholar-practitioner collaboration can be seen as a way for management scholars to regain some control over the utilization process, rather than a way to ensure knowledge relevance as such. Instrumental knowledge, which is paramount in the popular design-science perspective, certainly accounts for a share of management knowledge. Besides this, the design-science perspective offers a promising way to put scholar-practitioner collaboration into practice. It enhances the visibility of research products and the traceability of knowledge transfer. Yet instrumental knowledge should not be seen as the only type of relevant and used knowledge. Conceptual and critical knowledge are vital for management science. Instrumental relevance should be complemented by conceptual relevance, although the latter seriously tempers scholars’ quest for traceability and control over knowledge utilization. In the debate about the relevance and impact of management knowledge, the fundamental question of ‘knowledge for whom?’ should remain at the center of the debate.

Works of art and educational products are being marketed. In order to reach the upper segments of consumers they have to be packaged and advertised. Gentrifying cultural consumption of art can easily be compared to the upgraded and commercialized forms of the individualized mass education. Once upon a time the European social democrats opened up the "gardens of artistic treasures" and "gardens of educational advancement" to the masses. Malraux dreamed of an imaginary museum belonging to everybody. Popular access, however, changed the museum and the university more than expected. "The map of the museum had to be remade, its calendar adjusted to the latest beginning" (Lyotard, 1999: 305). Masses came, but failed to become passive consumers of artistic values prescribed by cultural elites. Today's musea are catering to the broader public and entering the emergent networks of virtual exhibition spaces, but artistic values are as prone to crises as shares on a stock exchange. Likewise, in the last quarter of the century, Trojan horses of the expanding forms of university-level education and of the MBA programs entered the turreted walls of the universities. Macdonaldization and lasvegasification of higher education followed. Pragmatic checklists and multiple choice tests replaced methodological apprenticeship and individual research assignments. Open and flying universities, virtual universities and faculties multiply and inhabit the educational earth. The roulette tables have also been turned in the academic casinos of universities, associations, conferences, networks, publications and the like: paradigms started winning and losing without metaphysical guarantees and without methodological credit cards. The metaphor of knowledge gambles appears to offer much better insights into the daily processes within complex, knowledge-intensive casinos (where governments and companies bet on future outcomes) than the metaphor of organizational learning, which coloured the vocabulary of organizational sciences at the turn of the century.

Les récents scandales financiers (Enron aux USA, Batam en Tunisie) ont bouleversé la conception et l'évaluation de la qualité de l'audit. Ils ont démontré l'incapacité des approches classiques d'évaluation à appréhender la qualité d'audit. Devant cette situation, les milieux économiques et juridiques ont réagi en adoptant une nouvelle loi sur la sécurité financière. Celle-ci favorise une évaluation de la qualité d'audit orientée vers l'analyse du processus d'audit. Cette mission a été confiée au comité d'audit, vu son accès privilégié à l'information et la place centrale qu'il occupe dans le processus de contrôle. L'objectif principal de ce papier est la construction d'une grille d'évaluation de la qualité du processus d'audit au profit des comités d'audit ou tout autre organe de gouvernance soucieux quant à la qualité de cet audit. La conception et la validation de cette grille d'évaluation ont été réalisées sur le terrain tunisien dans le cadre d'un protocole expérimental se basant sur la démarche de Churchill (1979) et l'adaptant au contexte de la recherche. Alternant des phases qualitatives (entretiens avec des experts comptables et des administrateurs) et des phases quantitatives basées sur un questionnaire de recherche (142 administrateurs), cette démarche a abouti à une échelle de mesure mettant en évidence 49 indicateurs de qualité répartis sur 6 étapes du processus.

Cette recherche s’intéresse aux choix des entreprises en matière de protection de leurs innovations. La littérature antérieure a eu tendance à suivre deux perspectives rarement combinées, et consistant à mettre l’accent soit sur la rivalité entre les différentes méthodes, soit sur l’intérêt de les combiner. Nous nous efforçons de combiner ces perspectives pour expliquer le choix des méthodes de protection. Quatre modalités sont étudiées : la protection par des méthodes informelles, la protection par le brevet, la combinaison de ces deux formes et le choix de n’opter pour aucune d’entre elles. L’analyse est menée sur les données de l’enquête communautaire CIS3. Nous explorons notamment l’homogénéité des méthodes informelles. Nous mettons ensuite en évidence trois types d’influences sur les préférences de choix selon que les variables favorisent exclusivement les méthodes informelles, favorisent le brevet seul ou en combinaison, ou favorisent une combinaison de méthodes, sans préférence pour l’une d’elles.

Este trabajo examina el cambio organizativo, centrándose en la distinción de los cambios según su origen y presentando una tipología que distingue entre cambios reactivos y anticipativos. Asimismo, se ofrece un profundo estudio de la resistencia al cambio, compilando las contribuciones de numerosos autores en una clasificación de las resistencias en cinco grandes grupos. A partir de una investigación empírica realizada en empresas españolas, hemos analizado la importancia de las fuentes de resistencia al cambio definidas teóricamente, considerando además las peculiaridades de las resistencias para los dos tipos de cambio establecidos. El estudio secunda, en primer lugar, la relación teórica de resistencias al cambio presentada. Además, los datos estadísticos muestran que determinadas fuentes de resistencia al cambio son más fuertes en los cambios anticipativos que en los reactivos, indicando a las organizaciones dónde deberán prestar especial atención durante su proceso de cambio en función de las características de éste.

Este artículo analiza la relación de la flexibilidad de los recursos humanos con la adopción del teletrabajo y los resultados de la empresa. Los datos de una encuesta realizada a 156 empresas españolas indican que el uso de prácticas flexibles de recursos humanos (flexibilidad funcional y flexibilidad numérica interna) está asociado de forma positiva con el uso del teletrabajo, y que de forma conjunta están asociadas positivamente, aunque con escaso valor predictivo,
con los resultados de la empresa. Las prácticas de flexibilidad externa no están asociadas con el teletrabajo, pero lo están negativamente con los resultados empresariales. El artículo analiza también las implicaciones para la gestión de las empresas interesadas en el teletrabajo y la flexibilidad de los recursos humanos.

L’objet de cet article est d’évaluer l’impact des conditions initiales dans lesquelles évoluent les entreprises sur leur propension à coopérer et sur les caractéristiques de leurs alliés qu’elles jugent déterminantes. Plus précisément, l’enjeu est de mesurer l’influence de différentes di-mensions de la distance (culturelle, administrative, géographique, économique et technologique) sur le choix du pays des partenaires d’une coopération internationale en R&D. Fondé sur les apports de la littérature relative au management international et sur la grille d’analyse de la distance proposée par Ghemawat (2001), cet article développe plusieurs hypothèses relatives aux effets de l’éloignement, envisagé sous cinq de ses dimensions. Ces hypothèses sont testées sur un échantillon de 1.502 accords internationaux conclus par des entreprises européennes oeuvrant dans le secteur des biotechnologies. Les résultats de l’étude empirique montrent que la distance influence le choix du pays des partenaires, mais que son impact varie en fonc-tion de la dimension retenue et en fonction du contexte dans lequel est conclu l’accord. En particulier, ils révèlent que les distances administrative, géographique, économique et technologique jouent un rôle essentiel, alors que la distance culturelle n’influence pas significativement le choix du pays des partenaires, du moins dans le secteur des biotechnologies et lorsque les projets bénéficient de subventionnements.

La démarche d’inférence occupe une place centrale dans la recherche en management. Très souvent, le chercheur est amené à tirer des conclusions ou à procéder à des généralisations à partir de ses observations ou de ses résultats. Dans certains cas, la statistique peut lui permettre de le faire de manière rigoureuse à travers la statistique inférentielle qui est la démarche d’inférence par laquelle le statisticien teste la généralisation d’une information collectée sur un échantillon à l’ensemble de la population dont est issu cet échantillon. Les tests statistiques sont ainsi au coeur de la statistique inférentielle et, par suite, de la démarche d’inférence. Pourtant, depuis leur introduction, les tests de signification statistique font l’objet de critiques vives et récurrentes portant aussi bien sur leur nature que sur leur rôle (Nickerson, 2000). La critique des tests de signification statistique est présente depuis longtemps dans pratiquement tous les champs disciplinaires... à l’exception notable du management qui commence tout juste à aborder la question (Mbengue, 2007 ; Schwab et Starbuck, 2009). Dès lors, l’objectif principal de cet article est précisément de mieux informer la communauté des chercheurs en management de l’existence de ces critiques des tests de signification statistique, d’en détailler le contenu et les enjeux et, surtout, de proposer des recommandations permettant d’améliorer le test d’hypothèses et, au-delà, la démarche d’inférence – statistique – dans la recherche en management.

Los conflictos de interés existentes entre los accionistas y la dirección de la empresa, puestos de manifiesto en la teoría de la agencia, se han hecho más visibles en los últimos años debido a la evidencia de algunos comportamientos poco éticos por parte de aquéllos que dirigen la organización, lo cual ha generado un clima de desconfianza entre todos los agentes relacionados con la empresa, principalmente accionistas e inversores. La recuperación de la confianza de los inversores se ha convertido en un objetivo prioritario para los organismos supervisores de los mercados financieros de todo el mundo, impulsando reformas legislativas que incorporan medidas legales para reforzar la transparencia informativa y la participación en las sociedades cotizadas. Las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones y, en especial Internet, están alterando el medio y los modelos de comunicación entre sociedades cotizadas e inversores, proporcionando información relevante de forma rápida y universal y ofreciendo nuevas vías para la gestión de la confianza en el ámbito del gobierno corporativo. En este trabajo se analizas las posibilidades de las nuevas tecnologías de la información para la construcción de confianza en las relaciones con los accionistas en general y con los pequeños en particular.

This essay borrows the construct of “heedful interrelating” from Weick and Roberts’s (1993) study of aircraft carrier flight decks, and uses the construct to analyze the social processes that structure contemporary scholarship in organization theory. We argue that organization theory often operates as a lowheed discipline, in which scholars take minimal heed of the contributions of their fellows. This condition of low heed is revealed in several specific aspects of the discipline: lack of attention to testing previously published theories, lack of emphasis on replication of published empirical research, low standardization of construct definition and measurement, and a minimally developed division of labor between theorists and empirical researchers. We explore the causes of this low-heed state in contemporary organization theory, and we also enumerate some advantages of low heed in the discipline. We devote attention to the effects of low heed on the training of newcomers to the field, and we argue that doctoral education in organization theory is both an effect and a cause of low heed. Finally, we offer some suggestions for incorporating more scholarly heed into organization theory without destroying the major advantage of a lowheed discipline – freedom of inquiry. We also indicate how a cautious increase of heedful interrelating in organization theory might improve the perceived relevance of its research results for management practice.

In this article, we explore tradition in the context of collaboration. We take a view of tradition as rooted in reference groups, which are conceptually distinct from membership groups. Through research in two particular collaborations supporting technology business development in the UK, we find that tradition, as a potential cause of failure or inertia, is inter-organizationally significant. We argue that insight into the nature of tradition --in particular its dynamic interplay with culture in the formation of identity-- allows participants to develop some useful language that supports more effective reflective practice in collaboration.

En dépit de l'engouement suscité, les résultats des manœuvres d'acquisition restent décevants. Cette déception est à rapprocher du manque d'attention portée à la dimension managériale des acquisitions au profit d'analyses stratégiques d'inspiration essentiellement économique. Si un certain accord existe aujourd'hui sur l'importance du management post-acquisition, des divergences subsistent quant aux principes qui doivent guider celui-ci. En utilisant la méthode des cas, la présente recherche permet de tester la pertinence des propositions en concurrence, lorsque l'acquéreur adopte une politique d'insertion de type symbiotique. La proposition selon laquelle une démarche d'inspiration rationaliste ne permet pas de gérer de façon adéquate les acquisitions de symbiose est corroborée. L'explication de ce résultat tient à la nature même des politiques de symbiose, lesquelles visent à développer des pratiques et/ou des offres innovantes dans un cadre coopératif. L'innovation conjointe revêt dans les cas observés un caractère émergent qui s'accorde mal avec une démarche d'inspiration rationaliste.
Editors' note. This article has been translated in English
Symbiotic Acquisitions: The Drawbacks of a Rational Approach
Despite their popularity, acquisitions have proved disappointing. The reason for this is that economic analyses have prevailed over the managerial dimension of the acquisitions. Although there is currently some agreement about the importance of post-acquisition management, divergences remain as to what the guiding principles should be. Our work, based on the case study method, tests the relevance of competing propositions when the acquiring firm adopts a symbiotic type of insertion policy. The proposition that a rational approach is unsuitable for managing symbiotic acquisitions is corroborated. This result can be explained by the nature of symbiosis policies, which are aimed at developing innovative practices and/or product lines in a cooperative framework. In the cases observed, such joint innovation has an emerging character which is inconsistent with a rational approach.

This introduction to the special issue on governance and ethics situates the question in existing theoretical frameworks, highlights stakes and implications, and discusses the different ways in which companies are perceived. New approaches give rise to a more fundamental re?ection on a new stakeholder type of governance and the development of ethical conduct. Ethics has thus become one of the reference values upon which a new pact should be built between the various actors of the organization concerning governance. Ethical behaviour in governance is de?ned as the way in which a company's stakeholders try to manage collective action from the perspective, and in the interest, of the majority, thus avoiding damaging behaviours, and through a better control of the power and responsibilities of the company's managers. In the area of governance, therefore, ethics aims at raising awareness of the others' rights and common needs, by imposing some principles of minimum requirement. From this point of view, ethical governance must be seen as a system of shared and transparent governance which seeks to establish the general frameworks and guidelines for managers of large companies, by enforcing the values of transparency, responsibility and professionalism. For this reason, a stronger link between ethics and governance has to contribute to help the company's stakeholders to behave, in their decisions and actions, in a way which is acceptable, reasonable and in conformity with given values of reference. Nevertheless, notwithstanding these positive actions, it should be stressed that a company forms part of the business world, and as such has to create value and generate pro?ts. Indeed, other reasons should be highlighted, such as the capacity to generate value for the client and all other stakeholders in an equitable and responsible way, thanks to a better and continuous adaptation of its products and services to new needs and market expectations.

Dramatic changes in 21st century careers have generated the need for a new set of theoretical lenses that view careers in a more dynamic, fluid way. Several characteristics of this new complexity lens that directly apply to dynamic career systems include discontinuities in career progression, non-proportionality of effects of effort, sensitive dependence on initial conditions, viewing a system in terms of constraints and triggers for change, and the impact of mutual causality of structural emergence. Two extensive case studies are presented and explained using these concepts, providing an expanded understanding of careers in management and in entrepreneurship.

In recent years companies have begun to implement a series of human resource management (HRM) practices that are referred to in the literature as high-performance or high-commitment. Among others these practices include employee involvement, training and organisational incentive plans. In this study we attempt to determine how and to what extent the adoption of this type of practices affects the firm's performance record. We focus specifically on the impact HRM has on operational performance. Moreover, we test if the impact of high-commitment practices on firm performance is contingent on the strategy followed by the firm. We try to detect possible differences in the relationship between HRM and the different kinds of operational results (efficiency, quality, and time). For this aim we use a database covering an initial sample of 965 factories each with a workforce of over 50 employees. We begin with a review of the literature before going on to present the descriptive statistics for the variables to be used and, finally, testing the relationship between HRM and operational performance through the estimation of several ordered probit models. Our results reveal the presence of a positive, statistically significant correlation between the adoption of high-commitment practices and improvements in quality and time-based performance. We also find that this effect is universal and not dependent on the strategy used by the firm.

This study examines the changes in attitudes of 145 management employees involved in the rightsizing of a large multi-divisional Fortune 500 firm. The restructuring effort resulted in downsizing some divisions of the firm, while upsizing other divisions of the firm. Several divisions also remained unaffected by the corporate restructuring efforts. Differences in job satisfaction across individuals in these three situations were assessed both before and after the corporate restructuring effort. Individuals in divisions that were not affected by the rightsizing efforts experienced a significant decline in job satisfaction along with those in downsized units. Individuals moved to divisions that were upsized demonstrated little or no change in job satisfaction. These significant differences are explained using equity theory and literature examining the "survivor syndrome" in corporate layoffs.

Cet article cherche à apporter une contribution au débat sur la nature de la relation entre investissement direct étranger et corruption d'Etat dans les pays émergents. Plus précisément, l'objectif est d'analyser cette relation en s'intéressant à la survie de la participation des partenaires étrangers dans les coentreprises internationales formées avec des firmes locales de pays émergents. Un échantillon de 277 partenaires européens ayant formé une coentreprise internationale au cours de l'année 1996 a été constitué afin de tester trois hypothèses de recherche qui ont été déduites d'un cadre théorique transactionnel. Les résultats empiriques montrent que deux mesures de la corruption d'Etat ont un effet significatif mais opposé sur la survie des coentreprises internationales : le degré d'imprégnation de la corruption a un effet stabilisateur alors que l'indice de corruption relative a un effet déstabilisateur.

This paper aims at reframing the relevance gap debate in management science by repositioning scholar-practitioner collaboration and knowledge coproduction practices regarding knowledge relevance and impact. Based on a reflection about the nature of management knowledge, we argue that the so-called relevance gap should be more aptly reframed as a ‘traceability’ or a ‘controllability’ gap. Although management knowledge may be deemed relevant by a wide range of practitioners, the ways these practitioners use management knowledge are hardly visible, let alone controllable. Scholar-practitioner collaboration can be seen as a way for management scholars to regain some control over the utilization process, rather than a way to ensure knowledge relevance as such. Instrumental knowledge, which is paramount in the popular design-science perspective, certainly accounts for a share of management knowledge. Besides this, the design-science perspective offers a promising way to put scholar-practitioner collaboration into practice. It enhances the visibility of research products and the traceability of knowledge transfer. Yet instrumental knowledge should not be seen as the only type of relevant and used knowledge. Conceptual and critical knowledge are vital for management science. Instrumental relevance should be complemented by conceptual relevance, although the latter seriously tempers scholars’ quest for traceability and control over knowledge utilization. In the debate about the relevance and impact of management knowledge, the fundamental question of ‘knowledge for whom?’ should remain at the center of the debate.

Dans un contexte où la faculté d'adaptation des salariés constitue un atout stratégique majeur pour l'organisation, la thématique de la mobilité intra-organisationnelle compte certainement parmi celles qui suscitent actuellement le plus d'intérêt de la part des professionnels des ressources humaines. Pour autant, si les avantages d'une telle forme de mobilité sont nombreux pour l'entreprise, ces derniers apparaissent beaucoup moins évidents pour le salarié lui-même qui, s'il est en position de force sur le marché du travail et si le mouvement professionnel proposé ne lui convient pas, a la possibilité de quitter son organisation pour mettre en œuvre ses compétences ailleurs. C'est la raison pour laquelle cette recherche s'intéresse à la disposition d'une certaine partie de la population salariée - les ingénieurs - envers différents types de mobilité proposés au sein de l'entreprise. Au terme de l'étude d'une population totale de 96 ingénieurs, nos résultats mettent en évidence différents déterminants (et donc des leviers d'action potentiels) en fonction de l'ampleur et de la nature du mouvement professionnel proposé au salarié. En outre, ils nous invitent à s'interroger sur la pertinence d'un système de mobilité intra-organisationnelle collectif, ignorant les aspirations individuelles et les besoins réels de l'entreprise.

We present research examining the role of organizational justice in the perceptions of patients visiting the urgent care department of a hospital. Patients' perceptions of uncertainty were found to mediate the relationship between waiting time and satisfaction and between waiting time and anger. Further, waiting time was significantly negatively related to procedural justice perceptions. Procedural justice perceptions were significantly positively related to distributive justice perceptions, which in turn, were significantly positively associated with satisfaction. We discuss the implications concerning managing the attitudes of waiting customers.

L’objectif de cet article est de montrer, à travers une étude de cas, les difficultés inhérentes à la genèse et au déploiement d’un nouveau business model dans une entreprise existante. Cette recherche s’appuie sur l’étude de Valtis, société de transport de fonds. Son PDG a contribué à introduire sur le marché un système innovant reposant non plus sur la sécurisation des biens mais sur la suppression de la convoitise : les fonds ne sont plus transportés en fourgons blindés mais placés dans des conteneurs sécurisés, véhiculés par des hommes sans arme circulant en voiture banalisée. L’article montre qu’au-delà de l’innovation technologique, il s’agit en fait d’un business model radicalement nouveau. Il met également en lumière l’apprentissage en double boucle nécessaire à sa genèse ainsi que les difficultés induites par la coexistence des deux business models (l’ancien et le nouveau), pendant et après la phase d’expérimentation stratégique. Plus généralement, l’article vise à mettre en évidence comment la notion de business model permet de revisiter la question de la régénération stratégique.

Creation and Implementation of a New Business Model: a Disarming Case Study.
The purpose of this article is to show through a case study the inherent difficulties in creating and implementing a new business model in an existing firm. This research is based on a study of Valtis, a French security transportation firm whose CEO helped to introduce onto the market an innovative system based not on securing goods but on removing temptation: money is no longer carried in armored vehicles but is placed in secure containers, transported by unarmed men traveling in unmarked cars. The article shows that as well as demonstrating technological innovation, this is in fact a radically new business model. It also highlights the double loop learning needed to create it and also the difficulties encountered when two business models (the old and the new one) coexist during and after the strategic experimentation phase. More generally, the article aims to show how the notion of business model opens up the question of strategic regeneration. .

This essay borrows the construct of “heedful interrelating” from Weick and Roberts’s (1993) study of aircraft carrier flight decks, and uses the construct to analyze the social processes that structure contemporary scholarship in organization theory. We argue that organization theory often operates as a lowheed discipline, in which scholars take minimal heed of the contributions of their fellows. This condition of low heed is revealed in several specific aspects of the discipline: lack of attention to testing previously published theories, lack of emphasis on replication of published empirical research, low standardization of construct definition and measurement, and a minimally developed division of labor between theorists and empirical researchers. We explore the causes of this low-heed state in contemporary organization theory, and we also enumerate some advantages of low heed in the discipline. We devote attention to the effects of low heed on the training of newcomers to the field, and we argue that doctoral education in organization theory is both an effect and a cause of low heed. Finally, we offer some suggestions for incorporating more scholarly heed into organization theory without destroying the major advantage of a lowheed discipline – freedom of inquiry. We also indicate how a cautious increase of heedful interrelating in organization theory might improve the perceived relevance of its research results for management practice.

Central to the controversy regarding the practical utility of academic research is the academic–practitioner gap, which is characterized by the opposition between ‘rigor’ and ‘relevance’. We contribute to this discussion by proposing Dewey’s pragmatism as a perspective that helps resolve the rigor–relevance divide. If the rigor–relevance dichotomy is to be eliminated, there are philosophical, theoretical, and empirical challenges that need to be overcome. We demonstrate that Dewey’s pragmatism helps deal with these challenges. His ontological and epistemological stance about the world, theory, knowledge, and the relationship between knowledge and action addresses the philosophical challenges. His notion of usefulness embraces both rigor and relevance. It can serve as a new criterion for desirable academic research, thereby addressing the theoretical challenges. Dewey’s writing about experimentalism deals with the empirical challenges.

This study examines the changes in attitudes of 145 management employees involved in the rightsizing of a large multi-divisional Fortune 500 firm. The restructuring effort resulted in downsizing some divisions of the firm, while upsizing other divisions of the firm. Several divisions also remained unaffected by the corporate restructuring efforts. Differences in job satisfaction across individuals in these three situations were assessed both before and after the corporate restructuring effort. Individuals in divisions that were not affected by the rightsizing efforts experienced a significant decline in job satisfaction along with those in downsized units. Individuals moved to divisions that were upsized demonstrated little or no change in job satisfaction. These significant differences are explained using equity theory and literature examining the "survivor syndrome" in corporate layoffs.

A number of studies have found that the performance of NPD projects greatly depends on the support they get from top management. However, research into why some projects get more support than others has been limited. The present paper takes a political approach to NPD, in which top management support is considered to be a function of a project leader’s ability to influence decision processes through personal relationships. Mobilizing the bridging perspective of social capital, we argue that project leaders need both strong ties to high-ranking others and sparseness in their networks. Vertical strong ties bring direct support and solidarity, resulting in improved access to resources and priority over other projects; sparseness provides exposure to the full range of information and interpretations in the organization, resulting in a more accurate picture of the political landscape and thus enabling the implementation of an appropriate influence strategy. A PLS analysis of a sample of 73 French project leaders involved in NPD projects provided support for our hypotheses. Hence, we contribute to a very recent stream of research showing that the structural and relational dimensions of social capital are complementary.

Cet article décrit une stratégie particulière de recherche sur des processus organisationnels : l'étude longitudinale de cas enchâssés. Elle peut être définie comme une étude de cas longitudinale comportant plusieurs sous-unités d'analyse et dans laquelle des investigations sont menées à la fois au niveau du cas d'ensemble et des sous-unités. L'article apporte un éclairage sur l'intérêt de ce design spécifique pour des recherches visant à développer des théories processuelles de phénomènes complexes comme l'innovation, l'apprentissage, la dynamique des compétences dans l'organisation. Ce design permet en particulier de mener une étude empirique longitudinale en comparant différentes sous-unités au sein d'un cas unique, dans une perspective de génération de théorie. L'article insiste également sur les aspects pratiques de la mise en œuvre de ce design, au niveau de la sélection des unités, de la collecte des données et de leur analyse. Le propos est illustré par des exemples concrets. Nous pensons que cet article peut éclairer l'apport potentiel et les difficultés de ce design pour d'autres recherches processuelles, et contribuer ainsi aux réflexions actuelles sur les aspects méthodologiques des études empiriques longitudinales.

We present research examining the role of organizational justice in the perceptions of patients visiting the urgent care department of a hospital. Patients' perceptions of uncertainty were found to mediate the relationship between waiting time and satisfaction and between waiting time and anger. Further, waiting time was significantly negatively related to procedural justice perceptions. Procedural justice perceptions were significantly positively related to distributive justice perceptions, which in turn, were significantly positively associated with satisfaction. We discuss the implications concerning managing the attitudes of waiting customers.

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This article reports on an investigation of firm strategies in the software and information technology service industry in Tunisia. The research contributes to the ongoing discussion on competitiveness of information and communication technology businesses in developing countries. It is based on the results of a survey conducted in 2004 with software and information technology service companies in Tunisia looking at their strategy implementation, utilization of external input factors, market focus and global reach. The article presents an analytical framework for the quantification of competitive challenges through the concept of strategic groups which clusters the industry structure along patterns and barriers in the strategic space of firms. The analysis identifies six groups, and discusses their competitive positions along the different patterns of diversification, internationalization and corporate control. The article argues that the view on the heterogeneity of the industry structure is key to an enhanced understanding of competitiveness. The results show that the concept of the strategic space of the software and information technology service industry and its challenges in Tunisia may be captured to some extend by prior research. However, the complexity of the strategy construct still conceals much of the true sources of performance and international success that are frequently discussed at both the economic and business policy level.

This article illustrates and critically discusses how organizations manage, interact with, and involve stakeholders in social-related international accountability standards through the theoretical lens of actor-network theory. Theorizations on international accountability standards have largely focused on opportunities and problems related to their adoption from a macro-economic or governance perspective. The role of stakeholders and related management practices remain overlooked, with little evidence-based understanding of the interaction between internal and external organizational actors in multi-stakeholder involvement processes. Although overall generally relational approach to conceptualizing stakeholders is not new, this research focuses on the case of a well-known human-resource corporation and the way it involves stakeholders in a social-related accountability standard. The results reveal that gaining stakeholder involvement is a social innovation process supported by a strong network of stakeholders whose interests and agendas are taken into serious consideration by the corporation. The strength and the sustainability of the network established between the company and its stakeholders are subsequently dependent on the way the corporation translates its own interests and those of the stakeholders into common goals.

Although trust has been given much attention in the management literature as an explanatory factor, less research has been devoted to defining and operationalizing the role of trust, particularly in relation to interorganizational collaboration. The role of trust in collaboration is usually attributed ex post; successful alliances seem to involve trust; unsuccessful alliances do not. As such, much of the extant literature has treated trust as a residual term for the complex social-psychological processes necessary for social action to occur. Yet the relationship between trust and performance remains somewhat elusive in collaborative relationships, perhaps due to the frequent application of interpersonal types of trust to interorganizational types of collaborations. Based on a synthesis of research on trust with research on other aspects of collaboration, this paper identifies the multi-dimensional role played by trust in collaborative relationships. By distinguishing between different roles of trust pertaining to different phases of alliance evolution, and recognizing the recursive nature of collaborative trust, this paper attempts to respond to calls for research examining the evolution of trust and its impact on interorganizational collaborative relationships. The simultaneous focus on trust as an antecedent of relationship development, a moderator of these on outcome, and direct effects on relationship outcome has important implications for both research and practice alike.

Dramatic changes in 21st century careers have generated the need for a new set of theoretical lenses that view careers in a more dynamic, fluid way. Several characteristics of this new complexity lens that directly apply to dynamic career systems include discontinuities in career progression, non-proportionality of effects of effort, sensitive dependence on initial conditions, viewing a system in terms of constraints and triggers for change, and the impact of mutual causality of structural emergence. Two extensive case studies are presented and explained using these concepts, providing an expanded understanding of careers in management and in entrepreneurship.

In this paper we analyze the process of technical and organizational innovation through which Aranzadi (the leading firm in the Spanish legal information sector) adapted to the changes in its environment in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After a theoretical introduction, we introduce the firm analyzed (Aranzadi) and study some of the factors that provoked the beginning of the innovation process in the late 1980s. Then, we analyze the main phases of the process of introduction of IT and organizational change in Aranzadi. Afterwards attention is focused on product and process innovation. Then, we consider the organizational change and the downsizing effect in the organizational structure. Finally, we draw the main conclusions of this case study.

El objetivo de este trabajo es contribuir a un mayor entendimiento sobre las implicaciones de la organización del trabajo, en particular "equipos de trabajo", en el performance de la empresa. El estudio que se presenta es eminentemente empírico, donde aplicándose una metodología integradora, tanto cualitativa como cuantitativa (con el objeto de minimizar las carencias que ambos métodos presentan de forma aislada), se busca analizar la relación existente entre trabajo en equipo y performance, a través del estudio concreto de las dos plantas productivas de una compañía industrial española filial de una de las más importantes multinacionales alemanas pertenecientes al sector metal, tomando como indicadores de dicho performance la productividad laboral, la calidad y el absentismo productivo, con el objeto de recoger aspectos de actitud y comportamiento además de los puramente económicos. Los resultados revelan que la eficacia del grupo depende, previsiblemente, del clima tecnológico y del clima que crea la dirección a través de su influencia en el diseño de las tareas, en la composición del grupo, y en el contexto organizacional, siendo muy importantes también el diseño organizativo y la cultura de la empresa.

Most musings on the strategic management of new organizational forms -- e.g., loosely coupled systems, information-technology-enabled networks, and virtual organizations -- exhibit two fundamental research weaknesses. First, the "new organizational formists" are insufficiently grounded in research on old organizational forms and old organizational strategies. Second, most studies of new organizational forms are insufficiently grounded in data from the new organizational forms they purport to explain. This leads to a situation in which chroniclers of an important change in organizations are too-often ignored because they are atheoretical and aempirical. This study of John Brown Engineering & Construction's adoption of an explicit information technology strategy provides a specific research context in which to consider three related phenomena. The first phenomenon is the continual movement in organizational forms, from firms, to bureaucracies, to institutions, and -- most recently -- to loosely coupled systems, information-technology- enabled networks, and virtual organizations. The second phenomenon is the continued accumulation of strategic options: cost leadership, differentiation, strategic alliances, vertical integration, diversification, globalization, and merger and acquisition strategies. The third phenomenon is the notion of "schizoid incoherence," a condition common to sensemakers, decision-makers, and strategy makers in which there are numerous possible directions to take.

Where many organizations have to work together to execute a highly-interdependent task over a period of several years what is the likely fundamental basis to effectively governing inter-firm exchanges? The existing literature strongly asserts stable and trusting relations as the answer. Drawing on an ethnographic study of one such network form, this paper disputes this view to argue that power imbalances provide a fundamental and probably unavoidable basis for this form of organizing. To the extent that trusting relations arise, the paper argues that these will be as a response to how power is configured and used in the network.

As a macro-spectacle, Las Vegas represents a singular display of the problems which arise in attempting to distinguish meaningfully between "reality" and "fiction". In this article we provide an example of a discursive method to explore the interplay between "social relations" and "images" as critical facets of the realities and fictions which constitute the "Las Vegas Spectacle". Social relations are examined using the systematic application of critical discourse analysis and the specific images analyzed are Las Vegas films. An intrinsic feature of the various representations of Vegas is the notion of "compulsive consumption". The implications of the "Vegas phenomena" (i.e., the centrality of spectacle, consumption, and the collapse of fiction and reality) for the study of organizations and processes of organizing are also discussed.

Despite the frequent incidence of corporate turnaround and over two decades of research effort, our understanding of the phenomenon is very incomplete. A review of forty-seven studies of turnaround reveals two main reasons for this state of affairs. Firstly, problems with research design: the phenomenon has been poorly defined resulting in unrepresentative cases being selected for analysis; many important research questions have either been ignored or asked too infrequently resulting in explanations that are simplistic; and, the validity of the findings of qualitative studies is limited due, on the whole, to poor methodological execution. Secondly, investigations have largely been ad hoc in that they have either proceeded without a priori theoretical guidance or have failed to relate findings to extant theory ex post. Recommendations for future research based on stronger research designs and stronger theory are advanced in the hope that rapid advancement will ensue.

Este trabajo examina el cambio organizativo, centrándose en la distinción de los cambios según su origen y presentando una tipología que distingue entre cambios reactivos y anticipativos. Asimismo, se ofrece un profundo estudio de la resistencia al cambio, compilando las contribuciones de numerosos autores en una clasificación de las resistencias en cinco grandes grupos. A partir de una investigación empírica realizada en empresas españolas, hemos analizado la importancia de las fuentes de resistencia al cambio definidas teóricamente, considerando además las peculiaridades de las resistencias para los dos tipos de cambio establecidos. El estudio secunda, en primer lugar, la relación teórica de resistencias al cambio presentada. Además, los datos estadísticos muestran que determinadas fuentes de resistencia al cambio son más fuertes en los cambios anticipativos que en los reactivos, indicando a las organizaciones dónde deberán prestar especial atención durante su proceso de cambio en función de las características de éste.

This paper reflects on the first author's attempts to adapt traditional social science methods to her own purpose. The research involved developing a methodology to explore the subjective career, concerned with people's internal, self-referential views of their unfolding career experiences. The paper describes a series of problems encountered along the way, stemming directly or indirectly from the rigidity of traditional science assumptions. In contrast, the authors find encouragement in contemporary ideas about "new science," and its imagery of a self-organizing, non-linear and interdependent world. The journey leads to philosopher Paul Cilliers' principles of complex social systems, which provide an alternative, and more affirming, platform for the kind of research undertaken.

This paper examines the role of structural embeddedness as an organising phenomenon within interdependent networks. While conceptual and philosophical in nature, data from a longitudinal ethnographic case study of an icon tourism destination is used to illustrate new framings of this concept. This method of research enables deeper insights to be attained that add both explanation and understanding to our current appreciation of the interdependent organizing phenomena. The case data illustrate how the network has structural attributes of heterogeneity, interconnection and reciprocity that contribute to its anti-hierarchical state. This enables an infinite number of structural possibilities to occur, some of which can be developed to form strategic capabilities that belong to the network. Assisting this process, is a symbiotic and mutual participation from the interdependent actors which critiques the notion of structural redundancy. The paper illustrates how the aggregated patterns have formed in the network and how reciprocal obligation has built long term exchange patterns that contribute to forming the embedded macroculture.

Este artículo analiza la relación de la flexibilidad de los recursos humanos con la adopción del teletrabajo y los resultados de la empresa. Los datos de una encuesta realizada a 156 empresas españolas indican que el uso de prácticas flexibles de recursos humanos (flexibilidad funcional y flexibilidad numérica interna) está asociado de forma positiva con el uso del teletrabajo, y que de forma conjunta están asociadas positivamente, aunque con escaso valor predictivo,
con los resultados de la empresa. Las prácticas de flexibilidad externa no están asociadas con el teletrabajo, pero lo están negativamente con los resultados empresariales. El artículo analiza también las implicaciones para la gestión de las empresas interesadas en el teletrabajo y la flexibilidad de los recursos humanos.

This paper develops three mechanisms to facilitate knowledge transfer within a global technology firm. Documentation helps to codify knowledge and make it less ambiguous. Technology is used as an interactive media to spread the message codified whereas a face-to-face community develops social ties among different business units among the firm. After monitoring the impact of each mechanism we discuss the need for adaptation and the factors influencing this adaptation. The results give rise to the prevalent role of the manager of the business unit whose action affects both the properties of the unit and the relationships with other units.

Résumé: L’objectif de cet article est de contribuer à la réflexion sur la Critical Management Education (CME), en prenant appui sur la pensée de Jacques Rancière. La réflexion de ce philosophe permet en particulier d’échapper au dilemme qui habite la CME, puisqu’elle interroge très fondamentalement la posture d’autorité et d’expertise de l’enseignant critique, mais qu’elle rompt également avec l’illusion de la collaboration et du consensus avec les enseignés et les managers. En posant l’égalité comme supposition à actualiser, Rancière invite à rejeter l’appropriation que recèle un savoir d’expertise et l’assignation des places qu’il présuppose. Sur cette base, on peut alors reconfigurer l’espace du management et de la formation au management, comme lieu propice à l’irruption du dissensus, pour politiser ce qui était neutralisé, et faire entendre la voix de ceux qui ne comptent pas.

Abstract: This paper aims to contribute to the literature on Critical Management Education (CME) by drawing on the work of philosopher, Jacques Rancière, whose thinking provides a means of resolving the dilemma underlying CME. It raises fundamental questions regarding the position of authority and the expertise of the critical educator, while at the same time dispelling the illusion of collaboration and consensus with students and managers. By presenting equality as an assumption to be actualised, Rancière invites us to reject the appropriation harboured by expert knowledge and the assignation of positions that this implies. On this basis, we can restructure the place of management and management education as a fertile ground for the emergence of dissensus in order to politicise what was neutralised and to give voice to those who have no voice.

Le concept de socialisation organisationnelle connaît un regain dintérêt dans les recherches récentes en gestion et renvoie à des préoccupations managériales fortes. Notre recherche s'intéresse à l'évolution du niveau de socialisation en fonction de l'ancienneté, durant les premiers mois en entreprise. Nous identifions quatre dimensions de la socialisation et formulons une hypothèse pour chacune d'elles. Deux études empiriques, menées auprès de populations de jeunes diplômés, corroborent les quatre hypothèses formulées : les niveaux de connaissance et de compréhension de l'organisation, du travail et du groupe de travail sont tous trois positivement associés à l'ancienneté, alors que le degré d'adhésion et d'intégration des objectifs et valeurs organisationnels n'est pas associé à l'ancienneté. Notre recherche suggère qu'au-delà des domaines de socialisation une prise en compte des processus sous-jacents est essentielle.

Résumé:Les suicides récents au sein d’entreprises françaises ont éveillé les consciences quant à la souffrance régnant parfois dans le monde du travail. Les cadres sont également touchés. Nous avons en effet assisté ces dernières années à une dégradation des conditions de travail de cette population qui a engendré un déni de reconnaissance et une souffrance morale. La mise en place et l’apprentissage d’outils de gestion moins traumatisants sont souvent préconisés comme moyen de limiter cette souffrance. L’objectif de ce travail est toutefois de proposer d’autres orientations pédagogiques pour lutter contre la souffrance des cadres. Nous voulons montrer que la théorie de la reconnaissance d’Honneth invite à privilégier chez les futurs cadres l’apprentissage de la lutte pour la reconnaissance et de la résistance collective. Nous tenterons d’opérationnaliser cette approche en mobilisant la littérature et notre propre expérience pédagogique.

Abstract: Recent suicides in French companies have raised awareness about the levels of suffering that sometimes prevail in the world of work. This also affects managers. In recent years working conditions have visibly worsened amongst this group, which has desensitised people to it and led to mental suffering. Setting up and training people to use less distressing management tools is often advocated as a way of minimising such suffering. However, the objective of this piece is to suggest alternative training methods to combat suffering amongst managers. We intend to demonstrate that Honneth's recognition theory favours training for future managers to recognise and struggle collectively against suffering. We will attempt to put this approach into operation by calling on existing literature and our own training experience.

This article introduces the special issue on collaboration. It addresses the various perspectives on intra- and interorganizational collaboration, highlighting tensions, both in practice and research. It then presents the articles composing this special issue.

This article introduces the special issue on interorganizational relationships. It presents the articles composing this special issue.

In this paper, we present and discuss the notion of interorganizational synthesis. Interorganizational synthesis refers to synthesis in the relationships between all organizations involved in a collaborative project. Synthesis is critical if organizations are fully to leverage the benefits of interorganizational collaboration in complex environments. Reviewing other research in management, in areas such as culture, rationality, and language, we show that collaboration is a far more complex task than economic or contractual theories suggest. We then present ten critical building blocks that must be accounted for in the design of interorganizational relations if synthesis is to be realised. Each of these blocks is discussed and the potential risks, and management implications, are also presented.

Over the last few years, firms have involved their customers increasingly in different goods- and services-related processes (design, production, delivery, etc.). A corollary of this trend towards increasing integration of the customer has been new organizational choices aimed at generating higher margins, either by increasing revenues or by reducing costs. In other words, thinking about the ways in which the customer can and should be mobilized has mirrored fundamental changes in business models (BMs). However, the academic literature on the BM concept has remained relatively scarce so far (Demil & Lecocq, 2008). In particular, it seems that no study has thus far tackled the issue of customer participation in the BM. Customer participation has been the focus of much research in the field of services marketing and management. This literature considers the customer as an active player, going beyond traditional perspectives of the customer as a mere buyer Still, the customer’s impact on the firm’s ability to generate revenues, and thus on the firm’s BM, remains unknown. This paper aims to provide a theoretical framework for the way in which firms can and should integrate their customers into their BM. Combining BM and customer participation literatures, we develop a theoretical framework for what we label the “Customer-Integrated Business Model” (CIBM), a generic BM based on customer participation. Our model relies on the RCOV (Resources and Competences, Organization, Value Proposition) of Demil & Lecocq, 2010. In a CIBM, the customer is considered as a resource. This has significant consequences, both on the two other components (Value Proposition and Organization) and on the interrelations between the three parts of the model. We exemplify this theoretical framework with two case studies based on secondary data. We conclude by addressing the potential limitations of CIBM.

Although their importance in service operations is widely acknowledged in services marketing literature, the place and role of customers in organizational theories remain unclear. In particular, the way customers may influence the firm’s intra-organizational coordination has received little attention. By combining services marketing and intra-organizational coordination theories, this paper contends that customers may influence the coordination process among service employees, also called relational coordination. Relational coordination is a process that focuses on the interactions among the roles endorsed by employees who participate in this process, carried out through communication and a web of relationships among these participants. It is argued here that customers should be included among the set of participants in relational coordination; they might influence relational coordination among service employees through the way service employees perceive customer participation (CP) in service processes.
This article proposes a conceptual framework of the potential influence of CP on relational coordination among frontline service employees, by reporting the findings of case studies carried out in two multichannel retail banks. The data analysis offers two main results. First, the way in which frontline employees perceive inputs (i.e., what customers bring to service processes) and the antecedents of CP (i.e., reasons customers participate in service processes) appears to influence relational coordination among employees. Second, this influence seems to be moderated by the nature and history of the customer–employee interaction. The data analysis also suggests mutual leniency as a potential new sub-dimension of the relationship dimension of relational coordination. Presented as five propositions, these results offer some limitations and further research directions discussed at the end of the paper.

L'article porte sur les liens entre éthique et RSE. Il propose une définition opérationnelle de l'éthique fondée sur le concept de rationalité communicationnelle dans une optique institutionnaliste-pragmatique (se revendiquant de l'approche conventionnaliste). Sur cette base il distingue et jauge les différentes modalités contemporaines visant à associer éthique et efficacité au sein du capitalisme : paternalisme, fordisme, RSE. A la lumière de cet éclairage conceptuel et historique il propose d'interpréter la RSE comme une forme conventionnelle en cours d'institutionnalisation. La réussite de ce processus d'institutionnalisation, qui dépend principalement du comportement des consommateurs, est la condition sine qua non de l'existence d'une authentique dimension éthique au sein des démarches de RSE.

As the members of an organizational field adopt similar practices, considerable variation in enactment can ensue. Field-level theories, however, do not yet explain how and why organizations vary in their use of standard practices. To tackle this issue, we focus on the infiltration of managerial practices into a sector traditionally motivated by norms of charity, using data drawn from a random sample of 200 nonprofit organizations. We first carry out an inductive content analysis of interviews with executive directors (EDs) about their use of strategic planning, which reveals three main rationales for adoption— associational, managerial, and opportunistic—and two outcomes—symbolic adoption and symbolic implementation. We then use Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to consider which combinations of organizational attributes and rationales are associated with the outcomes of decoupling or routinization. Our study shows creative yet patterned possibilities in the uses of a standard practice, with both adoption and implementation taking on symbolic meaning. The findings afford a deeper understanding of how multiple forms of decoupling can be used to understand micro-processes of variation, extending research on divergent outcomes of field-wide isomorphic pressures.

Questo lavoro utilizza la teoria del capitale sociale per comprendere le peculiarità del processo di acquisizione della conoscenza sui mercati esteri da parte delle start-ups. L'ipotesi sostenuta e' che lo sviluppo del capitale sociale nelle relazioni di business estere può favorire l'acquisizione di conoscenza che, a sua volta, accelera la crescita estera di tali imprese. Il campione analizzato include 112 start-ups italiane ad alta tecnologia, mentre l'unità di osservazione sono le relazioni diadiche da essi intraprese con il proprio cliente estero più importante. I risultati ottenuti confermano l'ipotesi che l'acquisizione di conoscenza risente del tipo di relazioni sociali instaurate con i clienti esteri più importanti, sia in modo positivo che negativo, a seconda della specifica dimensione del capitale sociale coinvolta.

We constantly hear of the increasing complexity of our fast-paced, globalized world, and those who did not survive the succession of crises of the last decade could certainly attest to the difficulties of strategy-making in such circumstances. Of course, our reflex when confronted with fear of the future is often to run for cover, particularly if management can get away with downsizing while blaming the crisis. But of course, this only fulfils the short-term objectives of strategy. If an organization favors short-term exploitation when crisis strikes, what will become of it in the longer term? By the same token, allocating resources to long-term exploration might incur the risk of precipitating the fall. It is with this ambidexterity dilemma in mind that I approached a group of colleagues who have for some time been at the forefront of research in the field. First, of course, is Michael Tushman of Harvard Business School. Michael, besides being a leading international scholar, is also one of the editors of M@n@gement. Michael is very supportive of the journal, and I thank him for that as well as for accepting the offer to join in this attempt to reflect on the dilemma of “ambidexterity in times of crisis”. Michael has been working for a long time with my dear colleague Gilbert Probst, of the University of Geneva. Working together with Michael and other colleagues, Gilbert has inspired many young scholars to research the complexity and paradoxes of ambidexterity. Finally, Achim Schmitt, an up-and-coming academic, was the final element required for a successful team. Their joint efforts produced a very thoughtful insight into the way in which ambidexterity can pass a stress test in preparation for major future crises. They offer their views on improving the theory of organizational ambidexterity in the context of economic crises, and their case study of Samsung Electronics captures the essence of ambidexterity in practice. I feel that in broader terms their text also sets the agenda for future research on ambidexterity. I hope that the readers of M@n@gement will enjoy this Unplugged essay as much as I did.

Emmanuel Josserand
Editor in Chief
M@n@gement.

Guest-Editor Jack Rabin discusses downsizing by need and downsizing by preference. He then presents the special issue on "Organizational Downsizing."

This study examines the changes in attitudes of 145 management employees involved in the rightsizing of a large multi-divisional Fortune 500 firm. The restructuring effort resulted in downsizing some divisions of the firm, while upsizing other divisions of the firm. Several divisions also remained unaffected by the corporate restructuring efforts. Differences in job satisfaction across individuals in these three situations were assessed both before and after the corporate restructuring effort. Individuals in divisions that were not affected by the rightsizing efforts experienced a significant decline in job satisfaction along with those in downsized units. Individuals moved to divisions that were upsized demonstrated little or no change in job satisfaction. These significant differences are explained using equity theory and literature examining the "survivor syndrome" in corporate layoffs.

This study examines the changes in attitudes of 145 management employees involved in the rightsizing of a large multi-divisional Fortune 500 firm. The restructuring effort resulted in downsizing some divisions of the firm, while upsizing other divisions of the firm. Several divisions also remained unaffected by the corporate restructuring efforts. Differences in job satisfaction across individuals in these three situations were assessed both before and after the corporate restructuring effort. Individuals in divisions that were not affected by the rightsizing efforts experienced a significant decline in job satisfaction along with those in downsized units. Individuals moved to divisions that were upsized demonstrated little or no change in job satisfaction. These significant differences are explained using equity theory and literature examining the "survivor syndrome" in corporate layoffs.

Après avoir exploré l'utilisation du concept de situation en management dans la lignée du travail de Girin, nous montrons que ce concept permet d'analyser de manière pertinente des activités managériales structurantes comme la construction du sens et la prise de décision. Le concept permet de comprendre comment s'organise la maîtrise de phénomènes dont l'essence et les frontières sont mal définies, qui doivent être gérés sous contraintes de temps et de connaissances. Nous montrons que l'enquête (dans la philosophie pragmatiste de Dewey), à travers une succession de cadrages (dans la sociologie interactionniste de Goffman), apparaît comme une composante essentielle de l'activité managériale. Deux études de cas illustrent le concept de situation : la première porte sur la protection d'une nappe phréatique face à un risque de pollution et sur la construction progressive d'une gestion de cette situation ; la deuxième porte sur la conduite d'une salle de commande de centrale nucléaire ayant pour objectif de prévenir tout type d'incident. Dans ces deux cas, la situation et l'organisation co-émergent dans une série d'interactions où l'organisation produit des situations qui en retour la modifient. Après une discussion théorique des apports du concept, nous proposons une analyse définissant des leviers de l'action managériale.

Peter Reason, from the University of Bath, reviews Daniel Selener's book on Participatory Action Research, and offers some comments about collaborative forms of action research.

Three metatheoretical positions, known as individualism, holism, and systemism, are salient in management research programs. The world views of individualism and holism in particular are a matter of controversy between social scientists, leading to serious shortcomings in the prevailing research programs. As we argue in this paper, neither view is adequate. A cogent alternative to both is systemism, which integrates the valuable insights of individualism and holism without their drawbacks. The paper illustrates the specific implications of each of these world views for knowledge management research.

This article addresses the issue of organizational resilience in a structural context marked by complexity, change and distribution of activities between interdependent occupational groups. We adopt an interactionist approach, relying mostly on the works of E.C. Hughes and A. Strauss to show how articulation within and between groups can affect the achievement of organizational goals (safety and production) in the face of unexpected events. The paper is based on an empirical study of teams involved in major modernization projects of the rail transport system and facing critical, risky and very constrained work situations. Our empirical results describe in depth the nature of arrangements and negotiations made within and between occupational groups to articulate the work. We show how organizational conditions affect these arrangements and finally the resilience of the project organization and groups within it. We then discuss our results in four main points, aiming to give a more general scope to our results. Our first two points demonstrate how professional rivalries and asymmetric relations lead to a displacement in organizational goals and affect resilience. Our third point assesses the role and the limits of both informal and formal arrangements in articulation and resilience. We finally show how adopting an interactionist perspective questions the notion of resilience for an organization as a whole

This article investigates the relationship between ownership structure and corporate diversification strategy. It focuses on the potential conflict of interest between shareholders and managers regarding diversification, and tests the resolution of such conflict by shareholder monitoring and then by the alignment of managers’ behaviour with that of shareholders. The study is original in that it is conducted on a population of large French companies, makes a clear distinction between insider and outsider ownership, and compares related diversification strategies to conglomerate strategies. The research shows that the effect of monitoring by outside blockholders is clear, leading to related diversification at the expense of unrelated diversification strategies. However, an increase in managerial ownership, far from leading to alignment, leads to managerial behaviour that goes against the interests of shareholders and more precisely to unrelated diversification strategies.

Three metatheoretical positions, known as individualism, holism, and systemism, are salient in management research programs. The world views of individualism and holism in particular are a matter of controversy between social scientists, leading to serious shortcomings in the prevailing research programs. As we argue in this paper, neither view is adequate. A cogent alternative to both is systemism, which integrates the valuable insights of individualism and holism without their drawbacks. The paper illustrates the specific implications of each of these world views for knowledge management research.

This essay argues that the Las Vegas Casino-hotel is a paradigm for the new means of consumption. The new means of consumption are designed to attract and service large numbers of customers by rationalizing their operations while enchanting their setting. Casino-hotels create a spectacular environment usually by simulating well-known attractions from the past, present, or imagined future. Further, they implode boundaries between gambling, shopping, travel and entertainment thereby making it possible for gamblers to bring their families, to reduce the regrets associated with excessive gambling by normalizing it, and to increase expenditures on things that are peripheral to gambling. The casino-hotels also manipulate time and space to create settings in which time seems not to matter and spatial boundaries to consumption are eliminated. Last, through the "comp" system they create incentives for those who frequently gamble large sums of money. As a result, the Las Vegas casino-hotel increases the likelihood that guests will spend more than is prudent.

El presente trabajo intenta presentar un enfoque amplio e integral de la responsabilidad social corporativa, dentro del marco general de un modelo stakeholder de empresa. Con esta finalidad, se adopta una perspectiva derivada del análisis económico de la firma, para complementar la habitual fundamentación ética o político-social. Sobre la base de los contratos relacionales e implícitos, la nueva teoría de los derechos de propiedad, las aproximaciones cognitivas a la teoría del management y la empresa como sub-economía, es posible diseñar un modelo de firma pluralista o stakeholder. Tal modelo conduce a un enfoque avanzado de la responsabilidad social empresarial y, al hilo de ella, a una visión « global » del gobierno corporativo, con otra perspectiva de estimación de los resultados de las firmas. Para su aplicación, se sugieren algunos principios generales, deducidos del análisis previo. Parecen especialmente relevantes los siguientes principios: (a) participación efectiva en la dirección y gestión de la empresa por parte de los principales stakeholders, eligiendo dentro de una amplia « cartera » de posibles mecanismos de gobierno ; (b) generación de riqueza neta total a largo plazo, sostenible en el tiempo y evaluada desde la perspectiva de las diversas partes interesadas, lo cual implica calcular la creación de rentas o cuasi-rentas económicas ; (c) negociación justa, equilibrio en la distribución e interiorización de efectos externos ; y (d) rendición de cuentas con transparencia y verificación externa e independiente.

This paper develops three mechanisms to facilitate knowledge transfer within a global technology firm. Documentation helps to codify knowledge and make it less ambiguous. Technology is used as an interactive media to spread the message codified whereas a face-to-face community develops social ties among different business units among the firm. After monitoring the impact of each mechanism we discuss the need for adaptation and the factors influencing this adaptation. The results give rise to the prevalent role of the manager of the business unit whose action affects both the properties of the unit and the relationships with other units.

L’introduction de l’iPhone sur le marché constitue une illustration intéressante de la manière dont une entreprise peut créer, coordonner et exploiter des ressources juridiques afin de soutenir une stratégie d’innovation. Ces ressources, développées à partir des données offertes par l’environnement juridique externe, ont pour objectif de protéger et de soutenir la valeur des autres ressources de l’entreprise. L’aptitude de celle-ci – et plus particulièrement de Apple dans le cas qui nous intéresse – à déterminer quelles ressources juridiques sont le plus à même de contribuer à la préservation et à la valorisation des autres ressources peut être qualifiée de capacité juridique de l’entreprise. La mobilisation des ressources juridiques est elle-même susceptible d’être porteuse de risques au regard de l’environnement juridique externe, que ce soit en termes de conformité réglementaire ou au regard des ressources juridiques détenues par les autres entreprises. Dans cet article, nous nous attachons à mettre en évidence comment Apple a exprimé sa capacité juridique en mettant en place et en coordonnant diverses ressources juridiques, afin de soutenir l’introduction de l’iPhone sur le marché. Nous montrons également pour quelles raisons les ressources juridiques déployées par Apple peuvent tout autant constituer un risque juridique dont l’appréciation renvoie également à la capacité juridique de l’entreprise. Nous concluons en proposant de possibles pistes pour de futurs travaux.

The introduction of the iPhone onto the market is a perfect illustration of the way in which companies can generate legal resources in order to support their innovation strategies. Such resources, which are developed using elements from the external legal sphere, are designed to protect and increase the value of a firm’s other resources. A firm’s legal capability – in this case that of Apple – is expressed by its ability to determine which legal resources are best adapted to create this value (taking into account the fact that they may present a risk in relation to the legal sphere), whether in respect of regulatory compliance or the legal resources held by other firms.

Central to the controversy regarding the practical utility of academic research is the academic–practitioner gap, which is characterized by the opposition between ‘rigor’ and ‘relevance’. We contribute to this discussion by proposing Dewey’s pragmatism as a perspective that helps resolve the rigor–relevance divide. If the rigor–relevance dichotomy is to be eliminated, there are philosophical, theoretical, and empirical challenges that need to be overcome. We demonstrate that Dewey’s pragmatism helps deal with these challenges. His ontological and epistemological stance about the world, theory, knowledge, and the relationship between knowledge and action addresses the philosophical challenges. His notion of usefulness embraces both rigor and relevance. It can serve as a new criterion for desirable academic research, thereby addressing the theoretical challenges. Dewey’s writing about experimentalism deals with the empirical challenges.

L'article porte sur les liens entre éthique et RSE. Il propose une définition opérationnelle de l'éthique fondée sur le concept de rationalité communicationnelle dans une optique institutionnaliste-pragmatique (se revendiquant de l'approche conventionnaliste). Sur cette base il distingue et jauge les différentes modalités contemporaines visant à associer éthique et efficacité au sein du capitalisme : paternalisme, fordisme, RSE. A la lumière de cet éclairage conceptuel et historique il propose d'interpréter la RSE comme une forme conventionnelle en cours d'institutionnalisation. La réussite de ce processus d'institutionnalisation, qui dépend principalement du comportement des consommateurs, est la condition sine qua non de l'existence d'une authentique dimension éthique au sein des démarches de RSE.

This study examines the changes in attitudes of 145 management employees involved in the rightsizing of a large multi-divisional Fortune 500 firm. The restructuring effort resulted in downsizing some divisions of the firm, while upsizing other divisions of the firm. Several divisions also remained unaffected by the corporate restructuring efforts. Differences in job satisfaction across individuals in these three situations were assessed both before and after the corporate restructuring effort. Individuals in divisions that were not affected by the rightsizing efforts experienced a significant decline in job satisfaction along with those in downsized units. Individuals moved to divisions that were upsized demonstrated little or no change in job satisfaction. These significant differences are explained using equity theory and literature examining the "survivor syndrome" in corporate layoffs.

In this preface to the special issue on "Doing Case Study Research in Organizations" we define case study research, review common themes and discuss future directions. We note the value of personal research stories and reflexivity in enriching understanding of case study research practice and draw attention to the opportunities associated with broadening the definition of what may constitute valuable data. We also discuss approaches to obtaining access and review some ethical dilemmas of case study research. Finally, we underline the need for further reflection on the role of computer analysis aids, on modes of writing and communication, and on ensuring quality in a context of epistemological diversity.

Les recherches sur les crises ont beaucoup étudié la prévention et la gestion des crises qui permettent à l’organisation d’absorber le choc et ainsi de faire preuve de résilience. Des travaux plus récents – et moins nombreux – se sont intéressés à la phase suivante que constitue l’apprentissage post-crise. Notre recherche prolonge ces travaux en étudiant les conséquences de la gestion de crise et de l’apprentissage post-crise sur l’impact et la gestion de la turbulence suivante. Pour cela, nous avons mené une étude longitudinale rétrospective de quatre processus de gestion de crise dans le secteur du tourisme, depuis le déclenchement de la crise jusqu’à la gestion de la turbulence suivante. Nos analyses montrent qu’une crise issue d’une turbulence de l’environnement peut renforcer la résilience de l’organisation par deux processus complémentaires liés : un apprentissage de renforcement positif au niveau de l’absorption du choc et un apprentissage double boucle incluant des changements stratégiques permettant de réduire la vulnérabilité de l’organisation.

Research on organizational crises has so far focused on prevention and on management, highlighting how businesses could absorb jolts and show resilience. More recently, a few studies have been devoted to post-crisis learning. In this article, we extend previous work by focusing on the consequences crisis management and learning have on the impact and management of the subsequent environmental jolt. To do so, we conducted a longitudinal retrospective analysis of four cases in the tourism industry, from the inception of the crisis up to the management of the subsequent environment jolt. Our analyses show that an organization can reinforce its resilience following an external crisis through two related processes: 1/ positive reinforcement learning at the time of impact absorption, and 2/ double loop learning including strategic change to reduce the vulnerability of the organization

This article argues that expectations that cutback will produce better management in the public sector are unreasonable. The model is of ambiguous worth in the private sector: though vigorously pursued, its benefits there have been dubious. But in the public sector, the likelihood of achieving major managerial improvements through downsizing is even less, since several of the key assumptions in the private sector do not hold in the public sector. One such assumption is that agencies forced to cut back will redefine their core functions and eliminate marginal and expensive activities. This article shows how this assumption has actually worked out in a number of case studies. A second assumption is that the cuts will be be taken and then the agencies will be able to recover. The reality for some agencies has been continuing chaos, threats of termination that last for years, and repeated budget cuts. The case studies include qualitative interviews with agency officials and documentary analysis. The data is taken from a forthcoming book tentatively titled, Balancing the Federal Budget: Eating the Seedcorn or Trimming the Herds.

Complex realities are a tremendous challenge for firms, internally as well as externally. Due to a reductionist tradition of thinking and modeling, these complexities are underestimated in strategy theory. In this article, we claim that modern evolutionary theories have an elaborate understanding of complex adaptive systems and are therefore able to provide new building blocks to a more realistic strategy paradigm that helps to understand and explain a firm's strategic behavior in its highly complex competitive and societal context. In the first part of this paper, we develop three general principles of complexity on the grounds of modern biological evolutionary theory. These principles concern the three forms of complexity, that is hierarchical complexity, functional complexity, and layer complexity. In the second part of this article, these principles are applied to corporate-level strategy as illustrated by a merger situation. Phenomena as complex as mergers, especially mega-mergers, offer so many possible dimensions of causalities that a rich frame of thinking such as evolutionary theory is essential for a comprehensive understanding of a real-life situation. This evolutionary analysis of a merger leads to a deeper understanding of the nature of corporate strategy in complex realities and confirms the analytical power of frameworks of strategic thinking based on complexity theory.

Downsizing is frequently referred to as a cost reduction strategy, however reviews of the existing empirical evidence question if downsizing can actually reduce costs or contribute to long term increases in profitability and performance (Budros, 1997; Cascio, 1993). The current uncertainty about the financial consequences of downsizing suggests the need for a multivariate study to explain pervasive downsizing occurring in the 1990s. The purpose of this study is to explore the financial and ideological determinants of corporate downsizing. Relatively little research has explored the potential causes of downsizing, though several researchers have expressed concern over the lack of empirical studies investigating critical drivers of downsizing (Budros, 1997; Cameron, 1994; McKinley, Sanchez, and Schick, 1995). Specifically, the model developed in this study explores multiple causal factors of downsizing in the investor-owned electric utilities industry. Several current studies have found that firms do not necessarily improve their financial situation or improve productivity through downsizing (Cascio, Young, and Morris, 1997; Mentzer, 1996). Given this, I propose that other causes of downsizing play a prominent role. In essence, I argue that ideological forces influence decisions to downsize in addition to other reported reasons, such as cost reduction. I hypothesize that the top managers' desire to conform to managerial ideologies can explain variance in downsizing over and above economic and financial causes. One hundred and fifty-five investor-owned electric utility companies that were in existence over the time period 1992-1995 were studied. Data were collected by conducting a content analysis of the letters to shareholders portion of company annual reports and by consulting archival data. A structured questionnaire was administered to a select group of ten industry executives to discover managerial ideologies prevalent in the industry. A panel of experts was used at a later time to validate the ideological constructs. Results of the study support the general proposition that variation in downsizing cannot be fully explained by the variation in company profits, productivity, or overhead costs. The findings indicate that negative change in return on sales and negative changes in overhead costs can explain some of the variance in downsizing levels. The findings also indicate that companies with senior executives who believe strongly in the benefits of market competition are more likely to later downsize. In addition, firms undergoing merger and acquisition activity are more likely to downsize in the following year, while firms that offer Employee Stock Option Programs are less likely to downsize.

Complex realities are a tremendous challenge for firms, internally as well as externally. Due to a reductionist tradition of thinking and modeling, these complexities are underestimated in strategy theory. In this article, we claim that modern evolutionary theories have an elaborate understanding of complex adaptive systems and are therefore able to provide new building blocks to a more realistic strategy paradigm that helps to understand and explain a firm's strategic behavior in its highly complex competitive and societal context. In the first part of this paper, we develop three general principles of complexity on the grounds of modern biological evolutionary theory. These principles concern the three forms of complexity, that is hierarchical complexity, functional complexity, and layer complexity. In the second part of this article, these principles are applied to corporate-level strategy as illustrated by a merger situation. Phenomena as complex as mergers, especially mega-mergers, offer so many possible dimensions of causalities that a rich frame of thinking such as evolutionary theory is essential for a comprehensive understanding of a real-life situation. This evolutionary analysis of a merger leads to a deeper understanding of the nature of corporate strategy in complex realities and confirms the analytical power of frameworks of strategic thinking based on complexity theory.

This introduction to the special issue on governance and ethics situates the question in existing theoretical frameworks, highlights stakes and implications, and discusses the different ways in which companies are perceived. New approaches give rise to a more fundamental re?ection on a new stakeholder type of governance and the development of ethical conduct. Ethics has thus become one of the reference values upon which a new pact should be built between the various actors of the organization concerning governance. Ethical behaviour in governance is de?ned as the way in which a company's stakeholders try to manage collective action from the perspective, and in the interest, of the majority, thus avoiding damaging behaviours, and through a better control of the power and responsibilities of the company's managers. In the area of governance, therefore, ethics aims at raising awareness of the others' rights and common needs, by imposing some principles of minimum requirement. From this point of view, ethical governance must be seen as a system of shared and transparent governance which seeks to establish the general frameworks and guidelines for managers of large companies, by enforcing the values of transparency, responsibility and professionalism. For this reason, a stronger link between ethics and governance has to contribute to help the company's stakeholders to behave, in their decisions and actions, in a way which is acceptable, reasonable and in conformity with given values of reference. Nevertheless, notwithstanding these positive actions, it should be stressed that a company forms part of the business world, and as such has to create value and generate pro?ts. Indeed, other reasons should be highlighted, such as the capacity to generate value for the client and all other stakeholders in an equitable and responsible way, thanks to a better and continuous adaptation of its products and services to new needs and market expectations.

In this paper we analyze the process of technical and organizational innovation through which Aranzadi (the leading firm in the Spanish legal information sector) adapted to the changes in its environment in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After a theoretical introduction, we introduce the firm analyzed (Aranzadi) and study some of the factors that provoked the beginning of the innovation process in the late 1980s. Then, we analyze the main phases of the process of introduction of IT and organizational change in Aranzadi. Afterwards attention is focused on product and process innovation. Then, we consider the organizational change and the downsizing effect in the organizational structure. Finally, we draw the main conclusions of this case study.

With a focus on the personal experience stories of self-identified gay men, the purpose of this paper is to consider queer experience as we can deconstruct Las Vegas. By interpreting the stories shared by visitors to Las Vegas, the author raises themes of compulsory heterosexuality, heteronormativity associated with recognition of primary relationships, and the celebratory experience of becoming a majority population during a discrete time period. It is hoped that the stories shared in this paper, along with the author's interpretations, will contribute to and foster additional discussion.

In the past few years, a new wave of downsizing has been observed. This wave began during the economic recession of the early 1990s and has continued during the subsequent years of economic growth. While the espoused purpose of this wave of downsizing is to reduce costs and increase "competitiveness," empirical research raises doubts about whether these goals have actually been achieved. Downsizing may also have serious negative consequences for the employees who lose their jobs, for their families, and for the employees who survive the restructuring process. Despite these outcomes, downsizing appears to have become institutionalized among executives as a taken-for-granted way of managing organizations. The cognitive rigidity that this suggests makes it important to discuss alternatives to corporate downsizing. The Volkswagen (VW) Company is an important example of such an alternative, because of its innovative policy of preserving employment in Germany. This paper describes the genesis and implementation of that personnel policy, showing that discontinuities in the corporate environment do not always have to be dealt with by means of mass layoffs. Profits and social responsibility do not necessarily have to be competing goals, but can sometimes be jointly accomodated by using appropriate human resource management programs.

We constantly hear of the increasing complexity of our fast-paced, globalized world, and those who did not survive the succession of crises of the last decade could certainly attest to the difficulties of strategy-making in such circumstances. Of course, our reflex when confronted with fear of the future is often to run for cover, particularly if management can get away with downsizing while blaming the crisis. But of course, this only fulfils the short-term objectives of strategy. If an organization favors short-term exploitation when crisis strikes, what will become of it in the longer term? By the same token, allocating resources to long-term exploration might incur the risk of precipitating the fall. It is with this ambidexterity dilemma in mind that I approached a group of colleagues who have for some time been at the forefront of research in the field. First, of course, is Michael Tushman of Harvard Business School. Michael, besides being a leading international scholar, is also one of the editors of M@n@gement. Michael is very supportive of the journal, and I thank him for that as well as for accepting the offer to join in this attempt to reflect on the dilemma of “ambidexterity in times of crisis”. Michael has been working for a long time with my dear colleague Gilbert Probst, of the University of Geneva. Working together with Michael and other colleagues, Gilbert has inspired many young scholars to research the complexity and paradoxes of ambidexterity. Finally, Achim Schmitt, an up-and-coming academic, was the final element required for a successful team. Their joint efforts produced a very thoughtful insight into the way in which ambidexterity can pass a stress test in preparation for major future crises. They offer their views on improving the theory of organizational ambidexterity in the context of economic crises, and their case study of Samsung Electronics captures the essence of ambidexterity in practice. I feel that in broader terms their text also sets the agenda for future research on ambidexterity. I hope that the readers of M@n@gement will enjoy this Unplugged essay as much as I did.

Emmanuel Josserand
Editor in Chief
M@n@gement.

In this paper we analyze the process of technical and organizational innovation through which Aranzadi (the leading firm in the Spanish legal information sector) adapted to the changes in its environment in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After a theoretical introduction, we introduce the firm analyzed (Aranzadi) and study some of the factors that provoked the beginning of the innovation process in the late 1980s. Then, we analyze the main phases of the process of introduction of IT and organizational change in Aranzadi. Afterwards attention is focused on product and process innovation. Then, we consider the organizational change and the downsizing effect in the organizational structure. Finally, we draw the main conclusions of this case study.

In this paper we analyze the process of technical and organizational innovation through which Aranzadi (the leading firm in the Spanish legal information sector) adapted to the changes in its environment in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After a theoretical introduction, we introduce the firm analyzed (Aranzadi) and study some of the factors that provoked the beginning of the innovation process in the late 1980s. Then, we analyze the main phases of the process of introduction of IT and organizational change in Aranzadi. Afterwards attention is focused on product and process innovation. Then, we consider the organizational change and the downsizing effect in the organizational structure. Finally, we draw the main conclusions of this case study.

While global warming stimulates debate on how to make organizations greener, the overheating of the world economy urges us to reconsider the ways in which we conceive management and organizing practices both as researchers and teachers. Exploitation as we know it may be behind us, but does this entail ideating a revolution to prepare a brighter future? Or are we simply facing a time of evolution? To put it more simply: is it time to unplug an overheating system and start from scratch, or can we still fix management and organizing practices? The path between an abstract scientism disconnected from reality and our subjection to short-term managerial interests is a narrow one. Both criticisms offer insight into our responsibility as researchers and teachers in the world as it is today. They can help us to redefine our connection with managerial practices and define the path we can follow to play a part in securing a brighter future.
To contribute to this overarching debate, we have invited two preeminent scholars to stretch boundaries and set the agenda for forthcoming research and teaching. Stewart Clegg (University of Technology, Sydney) and William H. Starbuck (University of Oregon) disclose their thoughts on the misconceptions in which we have been trapped and the challenges we have to face in order to reinvent management. Bill and Stewart have both had incredible careers. They have been influencing research in organization and management for several decades through their prolific publications, communication and engagement with practice. They are also both closely connected to M@n@gement. Bill participated in the first advisory committee of the journal. Stewart is currently one of the editors of M@n@gement and very actively involved in it, with all the passion he shows towards the many projects in which he participates.
Both Bill and Stewart are also very critical of what is being done in the field of management in terms of teaching, research and the way we do or do not engage with practice. They have still not lost faith, however, and they both answered my questions and generously offered their views on what the narrow path towards a brighter future in organizing practices could be. This confrontation of an advocate of skeptical reflection and an advocate of incremental efforts was initiated in the form of a moderated conversation at the 2010 EGOS colloquium (video available online at http://www.management-aims.com/, and was then developed into the present dialogic essay. This exchange, sometimes a confrontation, sometimes a convergent dialogue, inaugurates our “Unplugged” series, in which we give world-class scholars a wild card to share their own perspective on novel ways in which to conceive of management today.

Emmanuel Josserand

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