Organizational improvisation: change or stability?

Abstract

PurposeSome studies show that improvisation is a source of change, whereas others show that it is a source of stability. The purpose of this paper is to specify the factors which set the boundary between improvised change and improvised stability.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on two published studies and contrasts their findings to analyze the extent to which improvisation leads to organizational change or organizational stability.FindingsThe paper suggests that the most innovative instances of improvisation reproduce some features of everyday experience. The extent to which an improvisation is a source of stability or a source of change depends on the dynamics of variation, selection and retention therein.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research needs to add empirical flesh to this theoretical skeleton to push research on organizational improvisation beyond the study of its causes and into further research on its consequences.Originality/valueThe paper deals with the paradox of making sense about two apparently opposing streams of research on improvisation.