Routines and Sensemaking: Strengthening Connections, Extending Theory

Abstract

This symposium aims to strengthen connections between theories of sensemaking and organizational routine dynamics. The two fields share a great deal in common, including a strong emphasis on action, a process perspective on organizing, a tendency to link micro and macro levels, and a rich empirical grounding through ethnographic and related field methods. Yet despite these commonalities, very little theoretical or empirical work explicitly links sensemaking and routines. Routine dynamics research would benefit from deeper connections to sensemaking, as the latter would help explain the cognitive and affective processes by which patterning is accomplished simultaneously with situated routine performances and how internal routine dynamics are rendered meaningful in, and contribute to, emergent dynamics in ecologies of organizational routines. Similarly, sensemaking would benefit from deeper connections to routine dynamics. Given the latter’s long connection to stable operations and everyday work settings, routine dynamics can help move sensemaking theory beyond crises and rare events toward a deeper understanding of sensemaking in minimally disruptive episodes and through the absorbed flow of skillful practice. Three empirical studies will directly examine the interplay of routines and sensemaking, and two scholars with deep expertise in routines and sensemaking will lead an interactive discussion. Making Sense of Handoff Routines Presenter: Curtis LeBaron; Brigham Young U. Discovery Oriented Sensemaking: Organizational Routines as a Means for Disambiguating Cues Presenter: Morten T. Vendelo; Copenhagen Business School Presenter: Claus Rerup; Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Performing Requisite Variety: The Interplay of Routines and Sensemaking in Diagnosing and Treating Presenter: Brian Hilligoss; U. of Arizona Presenter: Timothy J. Vogus; Vanderbilt U.