Authors: Alan Gilchrist; Geoffrey Easton; Peter Lenney
In this paper we introduce and apply three concepts that are new to the field of Industrial Networks, using the Critical Realist ontology due to Margaret Archer. Constitutiveness is the property of an entity that makes it essential to the existence of another entity. For example communication is constitutive of organizations since they cannot exist without communication. Co-constitutiveness exists when two entities mutually constitutive one another. An example would be a manager and a subordinate in an organization. Micro-macro emergence describes the processes by which macro outcomes, such as the launch of a new product line, emerge from micro activities such as person to person conversations. These three concepts are exemplified through the use of a case study based on data collected in an organizational action research project. We conclude that this set of concepts offers a new and valuable way to understand the complexities of organizational and interorganizational worlds.
Journal: n.a. (n.a. – n.a.)
Web Address: n.a.
Publish Year: 2012
Conference: Rome, Italy (2012)