Perspective—Finding the Organization in Organizational Theory: A Meta-Theory of the Organization as a Social Actor
Brayden G. King, Teppo Felin, David A. Whetten
Organization Science · 2010 · Volume 21 · Issue 1
Abstract
Organization theory is a theory without a protagonist. Organizations are typically portrayed in organizational scholarship as aggregations of individuals, as instantiations of the environment, as nodes in a social network, as members of a population, or as a bundle of organizing processes. This paper hopes to highlight the need for understanding, explicating, and researching the enduring, noun-like qualities of the organization. We situate the organization in a broader social landscape by examining what is unique about the organization as a social actor. We propose two assumptions that underlie our conceptualization of organizations as social actors: external attribution and intentionality. We then highlight important questions and implications forming the core of a distinctively organizational analytical perspective.
Keywords
organization theory, social actors, sovereignty, responsibility, organizational identity, goals
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