Keeping Organizational Performance on Track : A Process Perspective on Managerial Justification Practices in Strategizing
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2015-06-24
Author(s)
Abstract
This study analyzes how managerial justification practices allow for mindfully keeping organizational performance on track. We understand mindfully keeping organizational performance on track as the ongoing managerial work of exploring new opportunities and expanding organizational competence in strategizing (Hernes & Irgens, 2012). This process is characterized by fundamental uncertainty, which makes justification of novel decisions, initiatives and perspectives particularly important, yet also particularly difficult. Through justification, management actively shapes symbolic environments and organizational knowledge structures - which contextualize the future development of organizational performance - and which are, at the same time, shaped by this development. In a process perspective, we describe and analyze managerial justification practices in strategizing as inherently temporal, distinguishing them in three ways: first, according to their "temporal references", which can be described through temporalities (past, present, future); second, according to their "temporal dynamic", which describes how justification practices shift over time; third, according to their impact on "speed", which characterizes how fast justification practices scale and mobilize themes, initiatives and decisions in an organization. Our study empirically examines managerial justification practices in a Swiss software engineering company after leadership change.
Language
English
Keywords
process
justification
change
temporality
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SoM - Business Innovation
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Not specified
Start page
27
Event Title
7th International Symposium on Process Organization Studies (PROS)
Event Location
Kos, Greece
Event Date
24.-25.06.2015
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
242908
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Name
EttlinGrand2015_PROS.pdf
Size
405.86 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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