Abstract
Organization theory is a theory without a protagonist. Organizations are typically portrayed in organizational scholarship as aggregations of individuals, as instantiations of the environment, as nodes in a social network, as members of a population, or as a bundle of organizing processes. This paper hopes to highlight the need for understanding, explicating, and researching the enduring, noun-like qualities of the organization. We situate the organization in a broader social landscape by examining what is unique about the organization as a social actor. We propose two assumptions that underlie our conceptualization of organizations as social actors: external attribution and intentionality. We then highlight important questions and implications forming the core of a distinctively organizational analytical perspective.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 290-305 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Organization Science |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2010 |
Keywords
- Goals
- Organization theory
- Organizational identity
- Responsibility
- Social actors
- Sovereignty
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Strategy and Management
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
- Management of Technology and Innovation