Organizational Routines: Advancing Empirical Research

Citation

Bullock, J. (2010), "Organizational Routines: Advancing Empirical Research", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 31 No. 6, pp. 568-569. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437731011070069

In the spirit of full disclosure, the tile of the work Edited by Becker and Lazaric, Organizational Routines: Advancing Empirical Research, makes a bold statement as to the progress made towards operationalizing the concept of organizational routines, first introduced by Stene in 1940, through interdisciplinary research. Routines, often likened to habits, are collective patterns of behaviour and capabilities leveraging technology and myriad human elements comprising the organization. By way of an overly simplistic example, commonly accepted business practices can be thought of as organizational routines. Another parallel to the human element is the role of organizational routines in creating a dynamic environment across a spectrum of possibilities ranging from stagnation and decline to invigoration and innovation. Seemingly emerging from a synergistic combination of theories of intelligent design and evolution, the concept of organizational routines supports historical analysis of the origins and evolution of an organization. This concept can also be used to facilitate an in‐depth examination of organizational performance, capabilities, stability, resilience, and the ability to adapt behaviours to maintain competitive advantage in a fast‐paced, changing business environment.

Organizational Routines: Advancing Empirical Research, is presented in a logical, layered structure that begins by establishing the conceptual foundation of routines as “productive techniques for doing something” by leveraging physical and social technologies within the organizational environment. This approach provides a basis for the identification of patterns involving operational architecture and capabilities with organizational behaviour. Once identified, these patterns can be studied to determine the dimensions and rate of change, replication, evolution, or extinction, clearly supporting the notion of organizational routines as units of analysis. The next layer encompasses methods for analyzing organizational routines that can be evaluated using workflow data, event‐sequence analysis, and organizational genealogy. Quantitative and qualitative research methods, augmented by historical analysis, can be used to produce empirical evidence on organizational efficacy, behaviour, and adaptability to change. Transitioning to the next layer, organizational routines and stability are explored through observations of regeneration of organizational character or the emergence of resistance to change (i.e. organizational inertia), with an emphasis on the influence of ambiguity in the dialectic of rules and routines. Case studies are presented in which instances of inertia through ambiguity were identified. This discussion sets the stage for the final layer of the structure examining organizational routines and organizational change and innovation. Three facets of change and innovation are presented: the influence of artifacts and distributed agencies on routine dynamics; the role of procedures and stable behaviour patterns in innovation; and the difficult creation of novel routines amidst the persistence of old habits and renewal of the knowledge base.

Written in a scholarly fashion, empirical research – quantitative, qualitative, and archival – involving application of the organizational routines concept is presented to promote a better awareness and understanding of its role in dynamic organizational change:

Specific issues highlighted include the use of event‐sequence methods in the analysis of organizational routines, the impact of standard operating procedures on recurrent behaviour patterns, and the stability, resilience, and change of organizational routines.

This approach results in a book that is well suited to support the needs of scholars and postgraduate students having research interests in the areas of organizational theory, strategy, behaviour, and change management. The book will also likely be of interest to researchers in these areas given that it is grounded in advanced empirical research and presented from a technical perspective. Conversely, Organizational Routines: Advancing Empirical Research is not generally recommended for business professionals or managers absent graduate studies or extensive experience in organizational strategy and behaviour.

Organizational Routines: Advancing Empirical Research presents leading edge organizational research through case studies and critical analysis, examining the role and influence of physical and social technologies inherent in organizational routines on organizational inertia, change, and evolution. This knowledge is valuable information in the quest for competitive advantage in today's ever changing business environment. Anchored in empirical evidence and scholarly research, this book is recommended for serious researchers engaged in the study of organizational theory, behaviour, and change.