“What may be”: Inspiration from Mary Parker Follett for paradox theory

Abstract

Scholars increasingly turn to paradox theory to offer insight into our world’s greatest challenges. Yet to contribute to radical strategy theorizing concerning those challenges and avoid premature convergence on a narrow set of ideas, paradox scholars need new insights. We turn to early 20th century scholar and activist Mary Parker Follett. We highlight the alignment between Follett’s philosophy and contemporary paradox theory, showing that the two approaches are well-suited traveling companions. Drawing on these similarities, we then explore how Follett’s novel insights emphasize “what is” rather than “what may be” and in doing so challenge and expand on paradox theory. Specifically, these ideas help paradox theory reimagining of organizations and strategizing by focusing on (1) how the micro constructs the macro; (2) possibilities for meaningful change; and (3) participatory interactions. By doing so, we argue that Follett pushes paradox scholars to contribute to more radical strategy theorizing.