Constantine Andriopoulos, City University London, UK
Ella Miron-Spektor, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
Wendy K. Smith, University of Delaware, USA
Change continues to accelerate, increasingly surfacing paradoxical tensions in organizations. Where we once sought order, clarity, and consistency in organizations, we now find disorder, dynamism, and inconsistencies. These contradictions abound in organizational goals, structures, processes, cultures and identities (Smith & Lewis, 2011). For example, long-term sustainability goals depend on both short-term profits and increased costly investments in long-term relationships (Gittel, 2004). Organizational structures must provide clarity and stability, yet enable flexibility and change (Klein et al, 2006). Contradictions raise paradoxical tensions (e.g. stability vs. change; control vs. freedom, centralization vs. decentralization), competing yet interrelated demands that exist simultaneously and persist over time (e.g. Andriopoulos & Lewis, 2009; Cameron & Quinn, 2006; Miron-Spektor et al., 2011; Smith & Lewis, 2011). Paradoxical tensions are complex. As they arise, they provoke questions and confusion, encouraging both scholars and practitioners to pause and reflect. Paradox scholars argue that these tensions are inherent in organizations, and attending to them simultaneously fuels long-run organizational success and sustainability (e.g. Miron-Spektor et al., 2011; Smith & Lewis, 2011). Moving beyond oversimplified either/or trade-offs, a paradox perspective seeks to transform management mindsets and practices by identifying both/and opportunities (Lewis, 2000). Yet they raise challenging questions about how organizations can effectively do so. These paradoxical tensions demand us to reflect on our rationality and reason. They force us to reexamine organizational life, in an attempt to make sense of this greater complexity (e.g. Fiol et al., 2009; Jarzabkowski & Sillince, 2007; Jay, 2013, Smith 2014).
In this sub-theme, we seek to share and motivate research that extends our understanding of how tensions and paradoxes impact our thinking and reflections on organizational life. Specifically, we invite papers that explore some of the following, illustrative questions:
How are tensions and paradoxes perceived, reflected upon and enacted by organizational actors? How does an emphasis on "either/or tradeoffs" turns into "both/and" practice, in what conditions, and with what outcomes?
How do tensions and paradoxes fuel reflections, examinations, and sense making?
What are the outcomes associated with different strategies for coping with/managing paradoxical tensions?
How can researchers explore tensions and paradoxes? How might paradox-oriented methods (assuming that tensions are dynamic – cyclical and constantly shifting in their relationship to one another) differ from dominant conventions aimed at identifying tradeoffs through central tendencies?
Constantine Andriopoulos is Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Cass Business School, UK. His research focuses on the management of tensions and paradoxes to sustain innovation in high velocity industries. Constantine was co-convenor of the paradox sub-theme for the EGOS Colloquium 2012 in Helsinki.
Ella Miron-Spektor is Assistant Professor of Organizational Psychology at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion, Israel. Her research interests include tensions and paradoxes that impede and enable creativity and innovation, organizational and team learning, and emotions at the workplace.
Wendy K. Smith is Associate Professor of Management in the Department of Business Administration, Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware, USA. Her research focuses on managing strategic paradoxes, including exploring/exploiting and social/financial goals. Wendy won the EGOS Best Paper Award in 2008.
Wendy K. Smith, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Management
Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716