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Darwinism, probability and complexity: market‐based organizational transformation and change explained through the theories of evolution
Author(s) -
SammutBonnici Tanya,
Wensley Robin
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
international journal of management reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.475
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-2370
pISSN - 1460-8545
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2370.00088
Subject(s) - mainstream , darwinism , survival of the fittest , transformation (genetics) , epistemology , sociology , organizational change , evolutionary economics , punctuated equilibrium , positive economics , neoclassical economics , economics , political science , philosophy , biology , paleontology , biochemistry , public relations , evolutionary biology , gene , law
The study of transformation and change is one of the most important areas of social science research. This paper synthesizes and critically reviews the emerging traditions in the study of change dynamics. Three mainstream theories of evolution are introduced to explain change: the Darwinian concept of survival of the fittest, the Probability model and the Complexity approach. The literature review provides a basis for development of research questions that search for a more comprehensive understanding of organizational change. The paper concludes by arguing for the development of a complementary research tradition, which combines an evolutionary and organizational analysis of transformation and change.