Building the Problem-Solving State
Bridging Networks and Experiments in the US Advisory Specialist Group in World War II
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2317397 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gerald Berk (0000-0001-7941-6727, University of Oregon, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 265-294 |
| Publication date | 2018-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Latin American Politics and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1531-426X • E-ISSN: 1548-2456 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032329218773711 |
| OpenAlex | W2799290505 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
Hidden within the office of the Secretary of War during World War II was a little-known agency called the Advisory Specialist Group (ASG). Strategically located between the laboratory, the factory, the battlefield, and civilian bureaucracy, the ASG solved the complex problem of reconciling new technologies and new military operations. In doing so, it combined incongruous domains of activity, contributed to Allied victory, and opened a channel to the problem-solving state. It is easy to overlook or misunderstand the ASG, because it was born in processes, addressed problems, and took a form unfamiliar to historical institutionalists. Drawing on Padgett and Powell's networked theory of organizational genesis and pragmatist theories of experimentalist governance, this article explains the ASG's emergence, networked form, and experimentalist procedures. A founding moment for the problem-solving state, this case provides empirical and theoretical guidance to study its historical and ongoing evolution
Bureaucracy · Corporate governance · Dichotomy · Economics · Epistemology · Management · Political science · Pragmatism · Sociology · State (computer science · Victory · Computer Science · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · Public Administration
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,6 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2023 (3) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |