Strategizing in pluralistic organizations: extending theoretical frames to include disrupted contexts

Abstract

Strategy work in pluralistic organizations has been investigated from different perspectives, including Actor-Network Theory, Conventionalist Theory, and the social practice perspective. However, these perspectives have been used to understand and influence strategy work in “business-as-usual,” rather than disrupted contexts. There is a challenge in understanding practices and processes that underpin the strategy work of pluralistic organizations facing disrupted contexts. This paper uses a narrative literature review to suggest the “improvised order” perspective for studying such strategy work by synthesizing and connecting three theoretical concepts: (dis)order, space, and bricolage. The improvised order perspective offers a complementary lens to the literature on strategy work in pluralistic organizations by showing the complexity of navigating between disorder and order, transforming space, and bringing to the fore practices required for strategy work in disrupted contexts. This paper also offers a set of propositions, which can stimulate future research on strategy work in pluralistic organizations facing disrupted contexts.