Experiencing Rare and Unusual Events Richly: The Role of Middle Managers in Animating and Guiding Organizational Interpretation

References

• Abma T. A. Fostering learning-in-organizing through narration: Questioning myths and stimulating multiplicity in two performing art schools. Eur. J. Work Organ. Psych. (2000) 9(2):211–231Crossref, Google Scholar
• Ansoff H. I. Managing strategic surprise by response to weak signals. California Management Rev. (1975) 18:21–33Crossref, Google Scholar
• Ashmos D. P., Huber G. P. The systems paradigm in organization theory: Correcting the record and suggesting the future. Acad. Management Rev. (1987) 12(4):607–622Google Scholar
• Bazerman H. M.Judgment in Managerial Decision Making (2006) (John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ) Google Scholar
• Balogun J. From blaming the middle to harnessing its potential: Creating change intermediaries. British J. Management (2003) 14:69–83Crossref, Google Scholar
• Balogun J. Managing change: Steering a course between intended strategies and unanticipated outcomes. Long Range Planning (2006) 39:29–49Crossref, Google Scholar
• Balogun J., Johnson G. Organizational restructuring and middle manager sensemaking. Acad. Management J. (2004) 47(4):523–549Crossref, Google Scholar
• Balogun J., Johnson G. From unintended strategies to unintended outcomes: The impact of change recipient sensemaking. Organ. Stud. (2005) 26(11):1573–1601Crossref, Google Scholar
• Barr P. S. Adapting to unfamiliar environmental events: A look at the evolution of interpretation and its role in strategic change. Organ. Sci. (1998) 9(6):644–669Link, Google Scholar
• Bazerman M. H.Judgment in Managerial Decision Making (2006) (John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ) Google Scholar
• Boje D. Stories of the storytelling organization: A postmodern analysis of Disney as “Tamara-Land”. Acad. Management J. (1995) 38(4):997–1035Crossref, Google Scholar
• Brooks I. Call my bluff: Multiple interpretations of an organizational process. British J. Management (1997) 8:269–282Crossref, Google Scholar
• Brown A. D., Humphreys M. Epic and tragic tales: Making sense of change. J. Appl. Behavioral Sci. (2003) 39(2):121–144Crossref, Google Scholar
• Buljan A., Shapira Z., Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M. Attention to production schedule and safety as determinants of risk-taking in NASA's decision to launch the Columbia shuttle. Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) 140–156Google Scholar
• Burgelman R. A. A process model of internal corporate venturing in the diversified major firm. Admin. Sci. Quart. (1983) 28:223–244Crossref, Google Scholar
• Chakravarthy B. S. Adaptation: A promising metaphor for strategic management. Acad. Management Rev. (1982) 7:35–44Google Scholar
• Columbia Accident Investigation Board (2003) (Government Printing Office, Washington, DC) . Report, 6 vols.: Vol. 1, http://caib1.nasa.gov/news/report/volume1/; Vol. 6, http://caib1.nasa.gov/news/report/volume6/Google Scholar
• Cunha M. P., Clegg S. R., Kamoche K. Surprises in management and organization: Concept, sources and a typology. British J. Management (2006) 17:317–329Crossref, Google Scholar
• Cyert R. M., March J. G.A Behavioral Theory of the Firm (1963) (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ) Google Scholar
• Czarniawska B.A Narrative Approach in Organizational Studies (1998) (Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA) Google Scholar
• Daft R. L., Weick K. E. Toward a model of organizations as interpretation systems. Acad. Management Rev. (1984) 9(2):284–295Crossref, Google Scholar
• Day G. S., Schoemaker P. J. H. Driving through the fog: Managing at the edge. Long Range Planning (2004) 37:127–142Crossref, Google Scholar
• Dunbar R., Garud R., Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M. Data indeterminacy: One NASA, two modes. Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) 202–219Google Scholar
• Dutton J. E., Ashford S. J. Selling issues to top management. Acad. Management Rev. (1993) 18(3):397–428Crossref, Google Scholar
• Dutton J. E., Jackson S. E. Categorizing strategic issues: Links to organizational action. Acad. Management Rev. (1987) 12:76–90Crossref, Google Scholar
• Dutton J. E., Ashford S. J., O'Neill R. M., Hayes E., Wierba E. E. Reading the wind: How middle managers assess the context for selling issues to top managers. Strategic Management J. (1997) 18(5):407–425Crossref, Google Scholar
• Edmondson A. C., Roberto M. A., Bohmer R. M. J., Ferlins E. M., Feldman L. R., Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M. The recovery window: Organizational learning following ambiguous threats. Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) 220–245Google Scholar
• Farjoun M., Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M. History and policy at the space shuttle program. Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) 21–40Google Scholar
• Fincham R. Narratives of success and failure in systems development. British J. Management (2002) 13(1):1–14Crossref, Google Scholar
• Fiol C. M. Consensus, diversity, and learning in organizations. Organ. Sci. (1994) 5(3):403–420Link, Google Scholar
• Fischoff B. Hindsight foresight: The effect of outcome knowledge on judgment under uncertainty. J. Experiment. Psych.: Human Perception Performance (1975) 1:288–299Crossref, Google Scholar
• Fiske S. T., Taylor S. E.Social Cognition (1991) 2nd ed.(McGraw-Hill, New York) Crossref, Google Scholar
• Floyd S. W., Lane P. J. Strategizing throughout the organization: Managing role conflict in strategic renewal. Acad. Management Rev. (2000) 25(1):154–177Crossref, Google Scholar
• Floyd S. W., Wooldridge B. Middle management involvement in strategy and its association with strategic type. Strategic Management J. (1992) 13:153–167Crossref, Google Scholar
• Gioia D. A., Chittipeddi K. Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation. Strategic Management J. (1991) 12(6):433–448Crossref, Google Scholar
• Gioia D. A., Thomas J. B. Identity, image, and issue interpretation: Sensemaking during strategic change in academia. Admin. Sci. Quart. (1996) 41(3):370–403Crossref, Google Scholar
• Golden B. R., Dukerich J. M., Fabian F. H. The interpretation and resolution of resource allocation issues in professional organizations: A critical examination of the professional-manager dichotomy. J. Management Stud. (2000) 37(8):1157–1187Crossref, Google Scholar
• Goleman D.Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception (1985) (Simon & Schuster, New York) Google Scholar
• Hodgkinson G. P., Sparrow P. R.The Competent Organization: A Psychological Analysis of the Strategic Management Process (2002) (Open University Press, Philadelphia) Google Scholar
• Hoffman A. J., Ocasio W. Not all events are attended equally: Toward a middle-range theory of industry attention to external events. Organ. Sci. (2001) 12(4):414–434Link, Google Scholar
• Hogarth R.Judgment and Choice (1987) 2nd ed.(John Wiley & Sons, New York) Google Scholar
• Hoon C. Committees as strategic practice: The role of strategic conversation in a public administration. Human Relations (2007) 60:921–952Crossref, Google Scholar
• Huber G. P. Organizational learning: The contributing processes and the literatures. Organ. Sci. (1991) 2(1):88–115Link, Google Scholar
• Huy Q. N. Emotional balancing of organizational continuity and radical change: The contribution of middle managers. Admin. Sci. Quart. (2002) 47(1):31–69Crossref, Google Scholar
• Ireland R. D., Hitt M. A., Bettis R. A., de Porras D. A. Strategy formulation processes: Differences in perceptions of strength and weaknesses indicators and environmental uncertainty by managerial level. Strategic Management J. (1987) 8(5):469–485Crossref, Google Scholar
• Isabella L. A. Evolving interpretations as a change unfolds: How managers construe key organizational events. Acad. Management J. (1990) 33(1):7–41Crossref, Google Scholar
• Kanter R. M. The middle manager as innovator. Harvard Bus. Rev. (1982) July–August):150–161Google Scholar
• Kauffman S.At Home in the Universe (1995) (Oxford University Press, New York) Google Scholar
• Kilduff M., Tsai W., Hanke R. A paradigm too far? A dynamic stability reconsideration of the social network research program. Acad. Management Rev. (2006) 31(4):1031–1048Crossref, Google Scholar
• Klein K. J., Kozlowski S. W. J.Multilevel Theory, Research, and Methods in Organizations: Foundations, Extensions, and New Directions (2000) (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco) Google Scholar
• Lampel J., Shapira Z. Judgmental errors, interactive norms, and the difficulty of detecting strategic surprises. Organ. Sci. (2001) 12(5):599–611Link, Google Scholar
• Lant T. K., Shapira Z., Lant T. K., Shapira Z. New research directions on organizational cognition. Organizational Cognition: Computation and Interpretation (2001) (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ) 367–376Google Scholar
• Lant T. K., Milliken F. J., Batra B. The role of managerial learning and interpretation in strategic persistence and reorientation: An empirical exploration. Strategic Management J. (1992) 13:585–608Crossref, Google Scholar
• Levitt B., March J. G. Organizational learning. Annual Rev. Sociol. (1988) 14:319–340Crossref, Google Scholar
• Levy D. Chaos theory and strategy: Theory, application, and managerial implications. Strategic Management J. (1994) 15:167–178Crossref, Google Scholar
• Maitlis S. The social processes of organizational sensemaking. Acad. Management J. (2005) 48(1):21–49Crossref, Google Scholar
• Majchrzak A., Jarvenpaa S. L., Hollingshead A. B. Coordinating expertise among emergent groups responding to disasters. Organ. Sci. (2007) 18(1):147–161Link, Google Scholar
• March J. G., Simon H. A.Organizations (1958) (John Wiley, New York) Google Scholar
• March J. G., Sproull L., Tamuz M. Learning from samples of one or fewer. Organ. Sci. (1991) 2(1):1–13Link, Google Scholar
• Martins L. L., Kambil A. Looking back and thinking ahead: Effects of prior success on managers' interpretations of new information technologies. Acad. Management J. (1999) 42(6):652–661Crossref, Google Scholar
• McDaniel R. R., Jorday M. E., Fleeman B. F. Surprise, surprise, surprise! A complexity science view of the unexpected. Health Care Management Rev. (2003) 28(3):266–278Crossref, Google Scholar
• Meyer A. D. Adapting to environmental jolts. Admin. Sci. Quart. (1982) 12:515–537Crossref, Google Scholar
• Mezias J. M., Starbuck W. H. Studying the accuracy of managers' perceptions: A research odyssey. British J. Management (2003) 14:3–17Crossref, Google Scholar
• Milliken F. J. Perceiving and interpreting environmental change: An examination of college administrators' interpretation of changing demographics. Acad. Management J. (1990) 33(1):42–63Crossref, Google Scholar
• Milliken F. J., Lant T. K., Bridwell-Mitchell E. N., Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M. Barriers to the interpretation and diffusion of information about potential problems in organizations: Lessons from the space shuttle Columbia. Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) 246–266Google Scholar
• Mintzberg H. Patterns in strategy formation. Management Sci. (1978) 24(9):934–948Link, Google Scholar
• Nonaka I. Toward middle-up-down management: Accelerating information creating. Sloan Management Rev. (1988) 29(3):9–18Google Scholar
• Nonaka I. A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organ. Sci. (1994) 5(1):14–37Link, Google Scholar
• Nystrom P. C., Starbuck W. H. To avoid organizational crises, unlearn. Organ. Dynam. (1984) 12(4):53–65Crossref, Google Scholar
• Ocasio W. Towards an attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Management J. (1997) 18(6):187–206Crossref, Google Scholar
• Ocasio W., Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M. The opacity of risk: Language and the culture of safety in NASA's space shuttle program. Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) 101–121Google Scholar
• Park K. M. Antecedents of convergence and divergence in strategic positioning: The effects of performance and aspiration on the direction of strategic change. Organ. Sci. (2007) 18(3):386–402Link, Google Scholar
• Plowman D. A., Duchon D., Hazy J., Goldstein J., Lichtenstein B. Emergent leadership: Getting beyond heroes and scapegoats. Complex Systems Leadership Theory (CSLT) (2008) (ISCE Publishing Company, Mansfield, MA) 124–142Google Scholar
• Plowman D. A., Baker L. T., Beck T. E., Kulkarni M., Solansky S. T., Travis D. V. Radical change accidentally: The emergence and amplification of small change. Acad. Management J. (2007) 50(3):515–543Crossref, Google Scholar
• Rothman J., Friedman V. J., Dierkes M., Antal A. B., Child J., Nonaka I. Identity, conflict and organizational learning. Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge (2001) (Oxford University Press, New York) 582–597Google Scholar
• Rouleau L. Micro-practices of strategic sensemaking and sensegiving: How middle managers interpret and sell change every day. J. Management Stud. (2005) 42(7):1413–1441Crossref, Google Scholar
• Russo J. E., Schoemaker P. J. H.Winning Decisions: Getting It Right the First Time (2002) (Currency, New York) Google Scholar
• Schwab A. Incremental organizational learning from multilevel information sources: Evidence for cross-level interactions. Organ. Sci. (2007) 18(2):233–251Link, Google Scholar
• Schwenk C. R. Cognitive simplification processes in strategic decision making. Strategic Management J. (1984) 5:111–128Crossref, Google Scholar
• Senge P., Scharmer C. O., Jaworski J., Flowers B. S.Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society (2004) (Doubleday, New York) Google Scholar
• Senge P. M.The Fifth Discipline (1990) (Doubleday/Currency, New York) Google Scholar
• Sharma S. Managerial interpretations and organizational context as predictors of corporate choice of environmental strategy. Acad. Management J. (2000) 43(4):681–697Crossref, Google Scholar
• Shaw B.Man and Superman (1903) (The University Press, Cambridge, MA) Google Scholar
• Simon H. A.Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organizations (1947) (MacMillan, New York) Google Scholar
• Sims D. Between the millstones: A narrative account of the vulnerability of middle managers' storying. Human Relations (2003) 56(10):1195–1211Crossref, Google Scholar
• Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M.Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) Google Scholar
• Starbuck W. H., Hedberg B., Dierkes M., Antal A. B., Child J., Nonaka I. How organizations learn from success and failure. Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge (2001) (Oxford University Press, New York) 327–350Google Scholar
• Sutcliffe K. M., Weber K. The high cost of knowledge. Harvard Bus. Rev. (2003) May):74–82Google Scholar
• Thomas J. B., McDaniel R. R. Interpreting strategic issues: Effects of strategy and the information-processing structure of top management teams. Acad. Management J. (1990) 33:286–306Crossref, Google Scholar
• Thomas J. B., Clark S. M., Gioia D. A. Strategic sensemaking and organizational performance: Linkages among scanning, interpretation, action, and outcomes. Acad. Management J. (1993) 36(2):239–270Crossref, Google Scholar
• Thomas J. B., Shankster L. J., Mathieu J. E. Antecedents to organizational issue interpretation: The roles of single-level, cross-level, and content cues. Acad. Management J. (1994) 37(5):1252–1284Crossref, Google Scholar
• Tversky A., Kahneman D. The framing of decisions and the rationality of choice. Science (1981) 185:1124–1131Crossref, Google Scholar
• Van Cauwenbergh A., Cool K. Strategic management in a new framework. Strategic Management J. (1982) 3:245–264Crossref, Google Scholar
• Vaughan D., Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M. System effects: On slippery slopes, repeating negative patterns, and learning from mistake? Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) 41–59Google Scholar
• Watkins M. D., Bazerman M. H. Predictable surprises: The disasters you should have seen coming. Harvard Bus. Rev. (2003) 81(3):72–80Google Scholar
• Weick K. E. The collapse of sensemaking in organizations: The Mann Gulch disaster. Admin. Sci. Quart. (1993) 38:628–652Crossref, Google Scholar
• Weick K. E.Sensemaking in Organizations (1995) (Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA) Google Scholar
• Weick K. E., Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M. Making sense of blurred images: Mindful organizing in Mission STS-107. Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) 159–177Google Scholar
• Weick K. E., Sutcliffe K. M.Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity (2001) (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco) Google Scholar
• Wissema H. Driving through red lights: How warning signals are missed or ignored. Long Range Planning (2002) 35(25):521–539Crossref, Google Scholar
• Woods D. D., Starbuck W. H., Farjoun M. Creating foresight: Lessons for enhancing resilience from Columbia. Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster (2005) (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK) 289–308Google Scholar
• Wooldridge B., Floyd S. W. The strategy process, middle management involvement, and organizational performance. Strategic Management J. (1990) 11:231–241Crossref, Google Scholar