Perspective--Finding the Organization in Organizational Theory: A Meta-Theory of the Organization as a Social Actor

Organization theory is a theory without a protagonist. Organizations are typically portrayed in organizational scholarship as aggregations of individuals, as instantiations of the environment, as nodes in a social network, as members of a population, or as a bundle of organizing processes. This pape...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Organization science (Providence, R.I.) R.I.), 2010-02, Vol.21 (1), p.290-305
Main Authors: King, Brayden G, Felin, Teppo, Whetten, David A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
goals
organization theory
organizational identity
responsibility
social actors
sovereignty
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Summary:Organization theory is a theory without a protagonist. Organizations are typically portrayed in organizational scholarship as aggregations of individuals, as instantiations of the environment, as nodes in a social network, as members of a population, or as a bundle of organizing processes. This paper hopes to highlight the need for understanding, explicating, and researching the enduring, noun-like qualities of the organization. We situate the organization in a broader social landscape by examining what is unique about the organization as a social actor. We propose two assumptions that underlie our conceptualization of organizations as social actors: external attribution and intentionality. We then highlight important questions and implications forming the core of a distinctively organizational analytical perspective.
ISSN:1047-7039
1526-5455
DOI:10.1287/orsc.1090.0443