IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jomstd/v59y2022i3p724-754.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Organizational Dischronization: On Meaning and Meaninglessness, Sensemaking and Nonsensemaking

Author

Listed:
  • Mats Alvesson
  • Anna Jonsson

Abstract

This paper contributes to close up studies of how members in organizations experience and act in relationship to what is broadly and vaguely referred to as institutionalized structures and practices. Based on a case study about scorecards, a quality control system, it is illustrated that this practice works poorly, because of inconsistent ideas of purpose and functioning. We introduce the concept of organizational dischronization (OD) to illuminate this. OD indicates a deviation from the ideal of shared or synchronized meanings, and the existence of diverging understandings and lack of clarification of this, in an organization. The paper challenges some core ideas of institutional theory (logics) and sensemaking, suggesting the use of counter concepts such is organizational illogics and nonsensemaking, thus opening up for a broader and less ‘smooth’ understanding of how institutions and sensemaking work than assumed in the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Mats Alvesson & Anna Jonsson, 2022. "Organizational Dischronization: On Meaning and Meaninglessness, Sensemaking and Nonsensemaking," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 724-754, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:59:y:2022:i:3:p:724-754
    DOI: 10.1111/joms.12790
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12790
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/joms.12790?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alvesson, Mats & Sveningsson, Stefan, 2011. "Management is the solution: Now what was the problem? On the fragile basis for managerialism," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 349-361.
    2. Dennis A. Gioia & Kumar Chittipeddi, 1991. "Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(6), pages 433-448, September.
    3. Mats Alvesson & André Spicer, 2012. "A Stupidity-Based Theory of Organizations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(7), pages 1194-1220, November.
    4. Joep P. Cornelissen, 2017. "Preserving Theoretical Divergence in Management Research: Why the Explanatory Potential of Qualitative Research Should Be Harnessed Rather than Suppressed," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 368-383, May.
    5. Eva Boxenbaum & Stefan Jonsson, 2017. "Isomorphism, diffusion and decoupling: Concept evolution and theoretical challenges," Post-Print hal-01488051, HAL.
    6. Power, Michael K., 2003. "Auditing and the production of legitimacy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 379-394, May.
    7. Debra Meyerson & Joanne Martin, 1987. "Cultural Change: An Integration Of Three Different Views[1]," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(6), pages 623-647, November.
    8. Karl E. Weick, 1988. "Enacted Sensemaking In Crisis Situations[1]," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 305-317, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sambo Lyson Zulu & Ali M. Saad, 2023. "A Sensemaking Perspective of Digitalisation in Construction Organisations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ronit Yitshaki & Fredric Kropp & Benson Honig, 2022. "The Role of Compassion in Shaping Social Entrepreneurs’ Prosocial Opportunity Recognition," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 617-647, August.
    2. Mary Ann Glynn & Lee Watkiss, 2020. "Of Organizing and Sensemaking: From Action to Meaning and Back Again in a Half‐Century of Weick’s Theorizing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(7), pages 1331-1354, November.
    3. Nordin, Ingrid Gustafsson, 2023. "Narratives of internal audit: The Sisyphean work of becoming “independent”," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    4. Costa, Sandra & Coyle-Shapiro, Jacqueline, 2021. "What happens to others matters! An intraindividual processual approach to coworkers’ psychological contract violations," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 109872, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Paula Jarzabkowski & Sarah Kaplan, 2015. "Strategy tools-in-use: A framework for understanding “technologies of rationality” in practice," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 537-558, April.
    6. Cooper, Christine & Lapsley, Irvine, 2021. "Hillsborough: The fight for accountability," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Guillaume Flamand & Véronique Perret & Thierry Picq, 2022. "Working with the potential of arts-based learning : Making sense and leaving ‘business as usual’ behind in an art seminar," Post-Print hal-04325528, HAL.
    8. Cristofaro, Matteo, 2020. "“I feel and think, therefore I am”: An Affect-Cognitive Theory of management decisions," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 344-355.
    9. Lorena Bezerra de Souza Matos, 2017. "Visible Expressions of Urban Invisibility: Exploring Pixação," Post-Print hal-03111870, HAL.
    10. Patriotta, Gerardo & Spedale, Simona, 2011. "Micro-interaction dynamics in group decision making: Face games, interaction order and boundary work," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 362-374.
    11. Greg Fisher & Emily Neubert, 2023. "Evaluating Ventures Fast and Slow: Sensemaking, Intuition, and Deliberation in Entrepreneurial Resource Provision Decisions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(4), pages 1298-1326, July.
    12. Daniel Tisch & Jeremy Galbreath, 2018. "Building organizational resilience through sensemaking: The case of climate change and extreme weather events," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1197-1208, December.
    13. Stenka, Renata, 2022. "Beyond intentionality in accounting regulation: Habitual strategizing by the IASB," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. Genevieve Musca & Linda Rouleau & Caroline Mellet & Frédérique Sitri & Sarah de Vogüé, 2018. "From boat to bags: The role of material chronotopes in adaptive sensemaking," Post-Print hal-01975340, HAL.
    15. Henri Teittinen & Jukka Pellinen & Marko Järvenpää, 2023. "Perceptions of Management Control in Post-acquisition Integration Context Through Sense-making: An Interpretive Case Study," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 12(2), pages 222-236, August.
    16. Genevieve Musca & Linda Rouleau & Caroline Facq-Mellet & Frédérique Sitri & Sarah de Vogüé, 2018. "From boat to bags: The role of material chronotopes in adaptive sensemaking," Post-Print hal-01928127, HAL.
    17. André Spicer, 2020. "Organizational Culture and COVID‐19," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(8), pages 1737-1740, December.
    18. Mariani, Marcello M. & Fosso Wamba, Samuel, 2020. "Exploring how consumer goods companies innovate in the digital age: The role of big data analytics companies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 338-352.
    19. Guénin-Paracini, Henri & Malsch, Bertrand & Paillé, Anne Marché, 2014. "Fear and risk in the audit process," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 264-288.
    20. Goodson, Brian M. & Grenier, Jonathan H. & Maksymov, Eldar, 2023. "When law students think like audit litigation attorneys: Implications for experimental research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:59:y:2022:i:3:p:724-754. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-2380 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.