Broadening our Sight: Re-Imagining Organizational Theories, Practices & Pedagogies

Abstract

Many arguments have been proposed in favor of organizational theorists broadening their sights —that it “creates synergies, increased value-added, and positive results for individuals, organizations, society, and the field of management and organizations” (source: http://aom.org/annualmeeting).Yet, as foundational frameworks on managerial agency (behavioral, evolutionary, sensemaking) indicate, the cognitive, affective, and institutional barriers for broadening our sight are profound. Effectively, theorists—just as managers— focus on local opportunities; and, as a consequence, organizational theories, practices, and pedagogies often fall short of addressing societal grand challenges. The proposed symposium showcases contemporary efforts in strategic management and entrepreneurship to address some of these concerns. The symposium features presentations by five scholars [Gino Cattani, Todd Zenger, Saras Sarasvathy, Richard Whittington, and Shubha Patvardhan] focused on broadening the sight on topics core to organizational theories, practices, and pedagogies— innovation, value creation, strategic agency, entrepreneurial education, and corporate oversight. Drawing on extensive conceptual and empirical work on innovators, entrepreneurs, and strategy practitioners, the panelists offer a revised understanding of (i) how innovators evaluate investment in a resource—not only on the basis of its “real option” value but, more importantly, its “shadow option” value [Gino Cattani] (ii) how economic actors operate —not just as “computers” “processing information”; but as “scientists” engaged in “theorizing” [Todd Zenger]; (iii) how strategic agency should be portrayed and practices—not just as oriented to “adapt” to the environment and “boundedly rational;” but as also oriented to “shape” the environment, and capable of “creative rationality” [Shubha Patvardhan]; (iii) how entrepreneurship education should be imparted— as a “method” a la the scientific method to “all”, rather than as an “outcome” of policy focused on “unicorns” [Saras Sarasvathy]; (iv) how corporate oversight can be most effectively accomplished —not just via traditional, “regulatory” mechanisms, but more through “normative” means [Richard Whittington]. Technologies as Shadow Options Presenter: Gino Cattani; New York U. Re-imagining Entrepreneurship Education: Lessons from Effectuation Research Presenter: Saras Sarasvathy; U. of Virginia A Theory-Based View of Entrepreneurship and Resource Formation Presenter: Todd Zenger; U. of Utah, David Eccles School of Business Oversight: The Grand Challenge of Corporate Control Presenter: Richard Whittington; U. of Oxford Creative Rationality Presenter: Shubha Patvardhan; U. of Delaware