The Logic of Political Action: an Experiment with the Epistemology of the Particular

Abstract

The first objective of this paper is to develop understanding of organizational political behaviour in the context of change implementation, through a constructivist approach grounded in the interpretations of the initiating actor. The basis of this exploration is the concept of ‘logic of action’, which describes the cognitive schema that an actor brings to behavioural choices linking means to ends. The second objective of the paper is to demonstrate strengths and inadequacies in current conceptualizations of political behaviour, and to develop a framework to guide further research in this area. These aims are achieved through analysis of an account of political behaviour from a single initiator, who is responsible for a specific organizational change, in relation to a single target individual, who is blocking or subverting that change. This account thus represents an experiment with the ‘epistemology of the particular’. Methodological concerns surrounding the external validity of single case accounts are therefore explored, and the concepts of analytical and naturalistic generalization are deployed in contrast with statistical generalization. The main elements in the logic of action identified include characteristics of the organizational context, formal and tacit warrants for managerial action and political behaviour respectively, the variety of ongoing political tactics, the interrelated mix of personal and organizational outcomes being pursued, and the reputation of the initiator of political behaviour, which in turn hinges on the ability to generate acceptable public accounts of one's behaviour. A revised approach to the ‘defining elements’ of organizational political behaviour is advanced based on this analysis.