Strategic Ambiguity in the Birth of a Loosely Coupled Organization

Abstract

The processes surrounding the birth of organizations have been explained on the basis of structural contingency, resource dependency, population ecology, and institutional theories. In general, these theories view the role of communication and interpretation as largely unproblematic. We argue that strategically ambiguous messages play a key role in the birth of loosely coupled organizations. The successful birth is contingent on these messages being interpreted differently by key constituencies in the organization's environment. A case study is presented in support of this argument.