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Resist or Comply: The Power Dynamics of Organizational Routines during Mergers
Author(s) -
Safavi Mehdi,
Omidvar Omid
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
british journal of management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.407
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1467-8551
pISSN - 1045-3172
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8551.12167
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , organizational field , context (archaeology) , power (physics) , field (mathematics) , resistance (ecology) , symbolic power , dynamics (music) , position (finance) , capital (architecture) , public relations , organizational dynamics , organizational change , business , sociology , political science , institutional theory , law , social science , mathematics , history , ecology , archaeology , biology , paleontology , physics , finance , politics , pure mathematics , pedagogy , quantum mechanics
The role of power and agency in the development of organizational routines is under‐theorized. In this paper, we draw on an in‐depth qualitative case study of a merger between two academic institutions, a college of art and a university, and examine the diverging responses of two organizational routines (admissions and budgeting) during the course of the merger to understand how power dynamics contribute to resistance/compliance of routines. Our findings suggest that the differences in routines’ responses to a merger initiative can be explained by applying Bourdieu's theory of practice and by employing the concepts of field and symbolic capital to unpack power relations in the context of organizational routines, and to disclose why some routine participants can exercise their agency while others cannot. We find that (a) the field within which a routine operates and (b) the actors’ symbolic capital and position‐taking during change implementation shape routines’ responses to organizational change initiatives.