Organising Agents and Institutions (Michael Lounsbury, Mary Ann Glynn and Fabian Muniesa) (May 11-15, 2009)

Faculty
Professor Michael Lounsbury,University of Alberta School of Business; Professor Mary Ann Glynn, Boston College, USA; Professor Fabian Muniesa, Ecole des mines de Paris, France; and from the Department of Organization the following researchers are involved in the course: Professor Peter Karnøe; Ass. Professor Signe Vikkelsø and Professor Ann Westenholz

Course Coordinator
Professor Ann Westenholz (aw.ioa@cbs.dk)

The PhD student is required to present a five-pages (maximum) written presentation, in which she/he relates parts of the curriculum literature in the course to his or her project. We prefer empirically based projects. The presentation must include specific references to the literature applied. The student presentation should provide material for discussion in minor groups during the course, and the student must be willing to participate in discussions of other presentations. Deadline for sunmission of the paper is 20 April, 2009.

It is a precondition for receiving the course diploma that the student attends the entire course.

The course focuses on the theoretical tensional field of actor-network theory, new-institutional theory, and the theory of symbolic interactionism (sensemaking theory) with a view to the nature and dynamics of organising processes. The purpose is to enable the PhD scholar to clarify and formulate his/her own theoretical position and to relate it productively to concrete issues of organising.

A dialogue between Actor-Network-Theory (ANT), New-Institutional-Theory (NIT), and Symbolic Interactionism (SI).

Actor-Network-Theory has emerged as a new school within science & technology studies, sociology and organisation theory. Drawing on post-structuralism and pragmatism, it has developed a unique material-semiotic approach, which has stimulated a range of novel empirical studies as well as a number of theoretical debates with contemporary social science.

New-Institutional Organisational Theory challenges the functionalist explanations of organisational behaviour by pointing towards the growing significance of the role of meaning in the production and reproduction of social practice in organisational studies. But New Institutional Theory has been subject to both internal and external criticism of having, among other things, replaced the invisible hand of the market with the invisible hand of culture. The criticism has led to various attempts to introduce the role of institutional actors in New Institutional theory.

Symbolic Interactionism and Organisational Sensemaking Theory focuses on inherent complexity and ambiguity of real-world organisations and their environments, and understands the creation of reality as an ongoing accomplishment that takes form when people make sense of situations retrospectively – and as such they enact their world.

The three theories have their own distinctiveness, but by bringing them together in one course we hope to produce productive synergy between them. This happens by asking each theory to deal with three key theoretical problem issues:

Power/control

Macro/micro

Stability/change.

The participants get insights into the theoretical tensional field of actor-network theory, new-institutional theory, and the theory of symbolic interactionism (sensemaking theory) with a view to the nature and dynamics of organising processes. The participants also get insights in how to use the theory on empirical work, especially in their own projects.

Lectures with workshops, dialogues and student discussions.

(Course participants are expected to have read this literature before the course)

Provisional

The provisional list includes both the obligatory readings as well as the supplementary reading, and the distinction between the two will be done in due time before the course starts.

Please see above.