Abstract
Social mechanisms are theoretical cogs and wheels that explain how and why one thing leads to another. Mechanisms can run from macro to micro (e.g., explaining the effects of organizational socialization practices or compensation systems on individual actions), micro to micro (e.g., social comparison processes), or micro to macro (e.g., how cognitively limited persons can be aggregated into a smart bureaucracy). Explanations in organization theory are typically rife with mechanisms, but they are often implicit. In this article, the authors focus on social mechanisms and explore challenges in pursuing a mechanisms approach. They argue that organization theories will be enriched if scholars expend more effort to understand and clarify the social mechanisms at play in their work and move beyond thinking about individual variables and the links between them to considering the bigger picture of action in its entirety.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 102-113 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Management Inquiry |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2006 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Mesotheorizing
- Organizational research
- Social mechanisms
- Theory building
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Business, Management and Accounting
- Strategy and Management
- Management of Technology and Innovation