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Towards a Theory of Organizational Improvisation: Looking Beyond the Jazz Metaphor
Author(s) -
Kamoche Ken,
Cunha Miguel Pina e,
Cunha João Vieira da
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of management studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.398
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1467-6486
pISSN - 0022-2380
DOI - 10.1046/j.1467-6486.2003.00410.x
Subject(s) - improvisation , jazz , metaphor , epistemology , key (lock) , sociology , psychology , cognitive science , aesthetics , computer science , linguistics , art , philosophy , visual arts , computer security
This paper calls for research on organizational improvisation to go beyond the currently dominant jazz metaphor in theory development. We recognize the important contribution that jazz improvisation has made and will no doubt continue to make in understanding the nature and complexity of organizational improvisation. This article therefore presents some key lessons from the jazz metaphor and then proceeds to identify the possible dangers of building scientific inquiry upon a single metaphor. We then present three alternative models – Indian music, music therapy and role theory. We explore their nature and seek to identify ways in which the insights they generate complement those from jazz. This leads us to a better understanding of the challenges of building a theory of organizational improvisation.