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Performing Modularity: Competing Rules, Performative Struggles and the Effect of Organizational Theories on the Organization
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We address the effect of organizational theories on the organization by focusing on how modularity, a widespread and influential organizational theory, performs a modular organization. While scholars have offered opposing arguments for the influence of this theory—i.e. that it either succeeds or fails to “produce” modular organizations—we show just how and how far modularity is enacted and shapes the organization, and how it may be shaped in turn. Drawing on recent advances in performativity theory we thus contribute to modularity by showing how the modular organization emerges over time as the outcome of performative struggles among competing and complementary theories and how these struggles contribute to modifying the theory and “designing” organizations. We also add to performativity by theorizing the competition between multiple theories, the emergence of unexpected consequences or “errors”, and their implications for organizational practices and boundaries.
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“A second reason is technology: the Internet reduces search and other transaction costs facilitating such harnessing and the effective coordination of distributed economic activity (D'Adderio & Pollock, 2014).”
From Evaluative infrastructures: Accounting for platform organization (2017) · cites this paper as D'Adderio & Pollock, 2014
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Metadata
- Authors
- D’Adderio, L., & Pollock, N.
- Affiliations
- University of Strathclyde (GB)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- Venue
- Organization Studies
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2014-08-19
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1813-1843
- ISSN
- 0170-8406 (ISSN-L)
- 1741-3044
- OpenAlex
- W2082893897
- Cited by
- 129
- References
- 101
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 32 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 36.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Locations
- Organization Studies (publishedVersion)
- Strathprints: The University of Strathclyde institutional repository (University of Strathclyde) (acceptedVersion)
- Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/E01948X/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management Theory and Practice
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Information Systems Theories and Implementation
- Keywords
- organizational modularity, performativity, performative theory, organizational design, organizational boundaries, unintended consequences, organizational practices
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