Reinforcing the Micro/Macro Bridge: Organizational Thinking and Pluralistic Vehicles

Abstract

Organizational research is less divided along micro and macro lines than is often assumed. This article addresses the developments made in bridging micro and macro organizational research over the past 30 years, in particular, the mainstreaming of multilevel organizational thinking as standard practice. Related developments include the multilevel heuristics commonly used in the field’s research designs as well as its theory and research regarding self-organizing multilevel processes and cross-level interventions. Advocating integrative pluralism, this article then recommends three approaches to expanding and deepening micro/macro integration, including active use of alternative representations in research, systematic reviews that integrate findings across levels, and computer simulations modeling cross-level complexity.