To whose drum are we marching? Change in business networks through a contextual logics perspective

Abstract

Our focus is on understanding the interplay of social structure and human agency in business networks. Our solution is to propose a contextual logics perspective, by asking: How do contextual logics emerge and decay within different parts of the network, and what is their role in the mobilization of resources, activities and business relationships? An historical case study of a network extending to two decades is employed to understand change through the use of contextual logics to access resources or restrict their use. Contextual logics are defined as shared and changing understandings of the means and ends, which are available for individuals to elaborate, along the way to attaining a specific future. We adopt a processual approach and embrace networks as constantly becoming, so avoiding the reduced time configurations found in the institutional logics literature. More particularly, we elaborate on two contextual logics, firstly Telos, which is concerned with creating an end, and secondly Conatus, which is about building and retaining an entity. Our case exhibits how managers can collaboratively apply contextual logics to mobilize resources, activities and business relationships in networks.