Abstract
Research has identified improvisation as a creative and open activity that can be harnessed to encourage innovation and learning within the organization. In this paper, we present improvisation as a covert phenomenon, occurring in a climate of mistrust and fear of censure, and disconnected with wider organizational learning. Drawing on qualitative evidence of a Fire Service in the United Kingdom, we explore hidden improvisation, and identify the conditions and processes that can connect these local deviations to wider processes of learning. We show that while most improvisations remain hidden and contained to avoid wider scrutiny, certain conditions of frequency, connectedness and scale escalate events to become more visible to supervisors and managers. The learning outcomes from these visible improvisations will then depend on management’s interpretation, evaluation and translation of improvising behaviours. Dependent on prior relationships of trust and credibility, middle management perform a key brokering role in this process, connecting previously hidden improvisation to wider organizational systems and structures.
Highlights
Jazz (Barrett, 1998) and theatre (Vera & Crossan, 2004) are the most often deployed metaphors to explore the potential of improvisation in organizations (Hadida, Tarvianen, & Rose, 2015)
We highlight the phenomenon of hidden improvisation and identify key differences from the more widely researched open improvisation
We further show that middle management plays a significant role in connecting hidden improvisation to wider learning through a process of brokering between the improvising firefighters and wider audiences, and this is shaped by several factors
Summary
Jazz (Barrett, 1998) and theatre (Vera & Crossan, 2004) are the most often deployed metaphors to explore the potential of improvisation in organizations (Hadida, Tarvianen, & Rose, 2015). A culture of experimentation, and open trusting communication (Barrett, 1998; Bigley & Roberts, 2001; Moorman & Miner, 1998; Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 1999), organizations allow improvisers the freedom to deviate from established norms, producing innovations that are subsequently fed back into the organization through wider learning processes (Crossan, Lane, & White, 1999) Approaching improvisation from this perspective brings into view the enabling structures that empower individuals to create (Schildt, Mantere, & Cornelissen, 2020). Viewing improvisation as an open activity (Crossan et al, 1999; Miner, Bassoff, & Moorman, 2001; Moorman & Miner 1998) prior research assumes that outcomes are exposed to the scrutiny of the wider organization and provides the potential for wider collective learning (Crossan et al, 1999; Vendelø, 2009)
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