Le dernier numero de M@n@gement (Octobre 2017) est online (http://www.management-aims.com/) et il comporte des contributions sur la creativité, les artefacts managériaux, et la formalisation de la stratégie dans les PME.
Nous attendons vos soumissions dans le champ de la stratégie et de la théorie des organisations. Nous nous engageons à un processus rapide et constructif.
http://www.management-aims.com/pg-40-regles-de-soummission-d-articles-scientifiques-en-management-strategie-et-organisation-m@n@gement.html
October 2017 issue – 20(3)
Ideas are feelings first: epiphanies in everyday workplace creativity
Stewart Clegg, Ad van Iterson, Arne Carlsen.
Abstract. This paper contributes to the literature on workplace creativity by combining insights on epiphanies with theory on the embodied and relational nature of understanding. We explore and develop the concept of epiphany, defined as a sudden and transient manifestation of insight. Primarily, we are interested in the implications of the concept’s artistic and philosophical origins for organizational creativity. We start from a consideration of the importance of epiphany in the literary works of Joyce, who underlined the crucial aspect of the conjunction of different human senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching). Next, we draw up upon the theory of insights as embodied, experientially felt qualities, as described by Mark Johnson (2007) and predecessors in pragmatism. Using three sets of empirical snippets as aids to reasoning, we arrive at renewed understanding of epiphany as a phenomenon in creativity that is experientially multi-sensuous and collective rather than merely cognitive and individual. Epiphanies are typically manifest as a series of felt occurrences arising within collective practice, follow from a history of preparation, and do not solely involve breakthrough ideas but can also include feelings of doubt, movement, opening up or disconfirmation. Understanding epiphanies in this way extends research on organizational creativity as collective practice. The article suggests further attention be paid to the transient and noetic qualities of work on ideas in organizations, such as visual and material stimuli in sensorial preparations of creativity and the use of openness in marking felt insights.
Keywords: epiphany, multi-sensuous experiences, embodied idea development, workplace creativity.
What are management tools made of? The “listic” structure of managerial artifacts
Régis Martineau.
Abstract. The literature on management tools has shown that they are composed of three interacting elements: a managerial philosophy, simplified view of organizational relationships, and technical substrate (Hatchuel & Weil, 1992). This article focuses on the latter, which is rarely taken as a specific research object, and explores the “artifactual” dimension of management tools. Using the work of the anthropologist Jack Goody (1977) on the evolution of oral societies toward written societies, this article shows that some management artifacts are based on a “listic” structure, which leads to: (1) a description of the structuring dynamics of these management artifacts, which evolves between rationalization and contextualization according to an ordering principle of the list; (2) as a distinction between open tools and closed tools, two genres that call for different modes of design and implementation; (3) a renewal of critical research around three typical phenomena of the list—“gap-spotting,” “table-of-contentism,” and “don juanism”; and (4) two lines of research on the appropriation and design of management artifacts.
Keywords: management tools, list, appropriation, design, critical management.
Does strategy formalization foster innovation? Evidence from a French sample of small to medium-sized enterprises
Marc Fréchet, Hervé Goy.
Abstract. Despite abundant research, the relationship between strategy formalization and innovation remains unclear. Some acknowledge a positive impact of strategy formalization on innovation while others consider it an impediment to novelty and creation. Going beyond the conflicting views over the influence of formalization, we combine open innovation and socio-material perspectives. This study aims to contribute to the debate by considering the possibility that formalization is a means of benefiting from openness with respect to innovation. Therefore, we predict that formalization might positively moderate the impact of openness on innovation. Relying on a unique sample of 555 SMEs, we investigate the effects of strategy formalization and openness—according to their various facets and interactions—on new product innovation. We find a positive influence of formalization (whether it is approached as a process or as a strategic tool) on product innovation. Our findings also support the idea that formalization increases the effectiveness of openness on innovation performance. Implications are discussed, and future research directions are outlined at the end.
Keywords: innovation, open innovation, SMEs, strategy formalization
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Book review: The Laws of Globalization and Business Applications
Juliane Engsig.
Unplugged : Academic non fiction. I thought I only had to have an idea (l’homme qui marche)
Jean-Luc Moriceau.
Unplugged : Management and Organization in the work of Michel Houellebecq
Boukje Cnossen (Editor) with contributions by Erwin Dekker, Laurent Taskin.
