Pluralism and the Problem of Variety

Abstract

Organizational theorists tend to homogenize what is, in reality, a pluralistic world, emphasizing the discovery of unifying principles that lend organizational focus, legitimacy, and identity while downplaying some of the complexity that pluralism often entails. In their original formulation, most organizational theories have richness and depth in modeling pluralistic variety; over time, however, theorizing seems to have purchased parsimony and generality at the cost of accuracy or realism. We revisit the dominant questions from three influential paradigms—strategic management, institutionalism. and organizational identity—and explore alternative theorizing that advantages pluralism.