Managing the Uncertainties of Innovation
Extending Thompson (1967)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9889776 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J-c Spender (0000-0002-0803-4622, corresponding author), J C Spender, Eugene H Kessler (0009-0000-5102-7711, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey), Eric H Kessler (Graduate School of Management, Rutgers University, 108 University Avenue, Newark, New Jersey 07102.) |
| Year | 1995 |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 35-56 |
| Publication date | 1995-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Human Relations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-7267 • E-ISSN: 1741-282X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/001872679504800103 |
| OpenAlex | W2160225195 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 23 |
Thompson's two domain model, with its central core of rational activities separated from a mantle of boundary-spanning activities, tells us how organizations cope with externally generated uncertainties. Innovation is an internal source of uncertainty that this model does not adequately cover. Following Burns and Stalker, we suggest that the rational core and the organic boundary-spanning are incompatible domains of activity with different modes of governance. Many writers overlook the problems of coupling these domains and simply argue that "upstream" innovation activities can be managed organically while "downstream" implementation activities can be mechanistic. Sometimes they see a mixed mode of governance being applied between the project's initiation and completion points. We argue that far from there being a gradual transition from organic to mechanistic, there is a dialectical tension between these modes which is best managed by "nesting" the organic within a host matrix of bureaucratic activity. This recalls Bower's model of the resource allocation process in a stratified organization. Thompson's model, apparently focused on externally generated uncertainties, is thereby extended to deal with the internally generated uncertainties of the innovation process
Boundary (topology · Bureaucracy · Business · Core (optical fiber · Corporate governance · Dialectic · Economics · Epistemology · Industrial organization · Management · Political science · Process (computing · Process management · Upstream (networking · Business Strategy and Innovation · Complex Systems and Decision Making · Computer Science · Innovation and Knowledge Management · Mathematics
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Schlüsselwerke der Organisationsforschung
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Years of Human Relations
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| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.23 |
| Citation span | 1995 - 2023 (29) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |