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A CULTURAL THEORY OF INFORMATION BIAS IN ORGANIZATIONS
Author(s) -
Thompson Michael,
Wildavsky Aaron
Publication year - 1986
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 - 10.1111/j.1467-6486.1986.tb00954.x
Subject(s) - pluralism (philosophy) , leadership theory , culture theory , cultural bias , organizational theory , cultural diversity , business , sociology , public relations , epistemology , knowledge management , positive economics , social psychology , political science , psychology , economics , management , computer science , leadership style , law , philosophy , anthropology , shared leadership
Organizations show an essential cultural pluralism. Taking this into account, we aim at developing a cultural theory of organizations. A central role in this theory is played by information rejection, which can follow any of four different styles: risk absorption, networking, paradigm protection, or expulsion. These can be related to different types of organizational cultures, in particular to markets, hierarchies, and sects. Different kinds of information bias institutionalize different kinds of leadership.