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The Dynamism of Organizational Practices: The Role of Employment Blueprints
Author(s) -
Romme A. Georges L.,
Antonacopoulou Elena P.,
Mulders Deborah E. M.,
Taylor M. Susan
Publication year - 2012
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/j.1467-8551.2011.00783.x
Subject(s) - dynamism , blueprint , affect (linguistics) , argument (complex analysis) , autocracy , business , marketing , management , economics , sociology , political science , engineering , epistemology , mechanical engineering , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , communication , politics , law , democracy
This paper explores how founders’ blueprints affect the dynamism of organizational practices, and in particular the capability to sustain as well as change practices. First, a theoretical argument is developed on the critical role of founders’ blueprints of the employment model, which are difficult to alter and mark firms’ future paths by affecting the dynamism of organizational practices over an extended period of time. Subsequently, case studies of several organizational practices in three management consulting firms in the USA , the N etherlands and the UK illustrate how founders’ conceptions of the employment relationship (i.e. their employment model) affect the way in which competing demands of continuity and renewal are addressed. Moreover, engineering‐ or commitment‐oriented blueprints appear to facilitate the capability to adapt, while autocratic blueprints do not.