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How organizational actors live out paradoxical tensions through power relations: The case of a youth prison

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  • Wenzel, Matthias
  • Koch, Jochen
  • Cornelissen, Joep P.
  • Rothmann, Wasko
  • Senf, N. Natalie

Abstract

Drawing on a critical discursive analysis of qualitative data gathered at a juvenile detention facility, this study explores how organizational actors live out paradoxes through enacting power relations. Based on our analysis, we elaborate a theoretical framework that conceptualizes (1) individual, role-based responses to paradox through which actors construct positions of control and resistance; (2) collective responses to paradox through which organizational members enact these power positions; and (3) the macro-level effects of such dynamics. Our findings demonstrate how micro-level power struggles keep paradoxical tensions in play. Furthermore, our study shows how, ironically, such struggles participate in the macro-level reproduction of the status quo.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenzel, Matthias & Koch, Jochen & Cornelissen, Joep P. & Rothmann, Wasko & Senf, N. Natalie, 2019. "How organizational actors live out paradoxical tensions through power relations: The case of a youth prison," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 55-67.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:155:y:2019:i:c:p:55-67
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.03.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Miron-Spektor, Ella & Beenen, Gerard, 2015. "Motivating creativity: The effects of sequential and simultaneous learning and performance achievement goals on product novelty and usefulness," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 53-65.
    2. Saku Mantere & Eero Vaara, 2008. "On the Problem of Participation in Strategy: A Critical Discursive Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 341-358, April.
    3. Matthias Wenzel & Jochen Koch, 2018. "Strategy as staged performance: A critical discursive perspective on keynote speeches as a genre of strategic communication," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(3), pages 639-663, March.
    4. Miron-Spektor, Ella & Gino, Francesca & Argote, Linda, 2011. "Paradoxical frames and creative sparks: Enhancing individual creativity through conflict and integration," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 229-240.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wenzel, Matthias & Will, Matthias Georg, 2019. "The communicative constitution of academic fields in the digital age: The case of CSR," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 517-533.
    2. Wenzel, Matthias & Stjerne, Iben Sandal, 2021. "Heuristics-in-use: Toward a practice theory of organizational heuristics," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    3. Waldman, David A. & Putnam, Linda L. & Miron-Spektor, Ella & Siegel, Donald, 2019. "The role of paradox theory in decision making and management research," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 1-6.

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