Habits

Abstract

This chapter presents a brief historical survey of action theorizing in organization research. Although central in the life of organizations, situated action has gradually been set aside by the mainstream of management and organization research as a theoretical object and a managerial issue, and replaced by the paradigm of information processing. The chapter illustrates the paradigm’s limits with two short case studies, setting out the pragmatist theory of action and its fundamental concept of “habit.” For pragmatists, meaningful action is the only way for human beings to be present in the world. They reject the “mind-first” view, where action is preceded and molded by “pure” thought, rooted in the idealist thought/action dualism. They reject the “stimulus–response” model and view habit as strictly dispositional and relational, compatible with situated meaning-making. They establish a constitutive link between belief and habit, thought and action. Their approach poses specific methodological and managerial challenges.