Knowledge that Transforms

The texture of organizing is an elusive concept, one that embraces the intangible quality of the activities of an organization's members. In this article we use examples taken from an empirical study of a department of mathematics in an Italian university to illustrate the social processes that underlie the construction of texture. We define ‘texture’ as that imaginative domain of organizational actors where processes such as the creation of a sense of togetherness and of ownership, mutual understanding and misunderstanding of organizational life, shifting memberships and audiences link and interweave. Some methodological issues concerning the concept of texture are also examined.

Recent theorizing in the marketing and organization theory literature attests to the notion that the market is a complex organizational form. We discuss the techno‐economic and institutional forces that structure the industrial market as an interorganizational network. The manner in which these forces structure the market determines segmentation and integration and the changing nature of co‐operation and competition in industrial markets.

In a young entrepreneurial firm, two developmental processes are identified. One reflects the emergence of a social network whilst the other reflects the emergence of a task domain. The concept of ‘organizational dialogue’ is introduced to describe the action strategies through which these two processes are connected. The resulting textures may critically be examined to produce ‘process’ knowledge. It is argued that organizational theory can benefit from more work of this kind.

The article briefly introduces the concept of ‘texture’ and indicates its role in the organizing process. The history of texture and related ideas in the field of organizational studies is summarized. Texture itself is viewed analogically as a weave or web of interacting elements that resists operational definition. It is a tacit quality of the field of social action that, by definition, must remain beyond the grasp of explicit statement. Some implications of the ‘logic’ of texture are discussed briefly in relation to the understanding of ‘instrumental action’ in organizations as well as rethinking the ‘organization‐environment’ problem in terms of ‘contextures’.

This article has four distinct but related purposes. First, we describe the research setting for assessing human information processing style in terms of the rational‐intuitive complementarity. We highlight earlier management study that directly deals with this dimension. Then we review popular instruments for assessing style in rational‐intuitive terms. Second, we outline a conceptual model that elaborates the rational—intuitive styles of human information processing into three modes each. There are innovative management studies, and Eastern and Western philosophical bases for this model. We use this background to help synthesize three lines of neurophysiological research to formulate a six‐mode human information processing (HIP) metaphor. Third, we use the HIP metaphor to develop an HIP survey with a scale for each mode. This section describes how conceptual definitions are derived from the model with guidance from the rational‐intuitive term pairs and the survey item pool. Finally, we describe the statistical analysis of the reliability and validity of the six scales for the HIP survey. We use a criterion‐based factor analytic approach for isolating the scale items. Then, the HIP metaphor is used to predict associations among the scales in our study. We use a modified form of the multitrait—multimethod approach to test our predictions. Finally, this section summarizes the results of the predicted relationships among the variables on the self‐assessment tools used in this study. The study helps bring the rational—intuitive assessment of human information processing into the mainstream of management research.

This article briefly reviews previous research on strategic groups and focuses upon the influence of time on strategic positioning. This stability approach also motivates research into the dynamics of strategic group shifts. An illustrative example drawn from the drug industry emphasizes the practical application of these concepts. The analytically‐derived strategic groupings are then compared with evidence drawn from industry and academic research. Finally, following discussion of the results, some suggestions about integrating the strategic group concept into strategic management research are also made.

The study of the role of professionals in the organizational innovation process has been dominated by a Structural‐Functional perspective. The assumptions associated with this perspective are examined, critiqued, and shown to have led to research findings marked by equivocality and instability. An alternative approach, based on Radical‐Structural principles is developed, and suggestions for implementing this approach in future research are offered.

What characterizes superior organizational performance? The question has always fascinated practitioners and academic researchers, and a string of recent bestsellers attests to the current prominence of performance as an organizational issue. This article brings together recent perspectives on performance and provides some further conclusions of its own based on analysis of a new database. Articles on 74 companies rated by Business Month as being one of the five best‐managed companies during each of the 15 years in the 1972–86 timeframe were content analysed in an effort to isolate the key strategic and organizational factors associated with superior corporate performance. Results indicate that superior performance is associated with a broad product line accompanied by geographic diversity, an emphasis on planning coupled with sound financial controls and reporting systems, a high level of commitment to product and process innovation, investments in modernization of manufacturing facilities, a reputation for superior quality and customer service, and progressive human resource management practices. These findings are compared and contrasted with the conclusions of other recent studies and implications of the findings for management are discussed. Far from being the result of applying any particular formula, superior performance is found to require a diverse mix of competencies and values.

This article provides an analysis of factors affecting the level of product innovation in a small enterprise setting. The perspective chosen considers the interaction of management and environmental factors and its impact on product innovation and explores how these factors interrelate to influence small business success (growth). A causal multi‐site model is developed which will assist in identifying product innovation determinants for high‐growth and low‐growth firms. Moreover, direct and secondary explanations of product innovations will be isolated. Twelve case studies will be examined. The conclusions are that, for high‐growth firms, determinants of product innovation that influenced small‐business success (growth) were technology, competitive edge, research and development, product life‐cycle, market change, product/market mix and customer base. For low‐growth firms, customer base was a major determinant of product innovation which influenced small‐business success (growth).