Turbulence in Organizations: New Metaphors for Organizational Research

Nonlinear dynamics provides two metaphors for organizational dynamics, bifurcation, and mathematical chaos. These metaphors make possible distinct observations about turbulent organizational processes that have previously been described as “chaotic.” Careful distinction between the metaphors affords additional insight into organizational processes and can aid theory development. The metaphors are integrated into organizational process research through application to two current process theory taxonomies. New research directions in managing turbulence and constructing process models are suggested.