Pinpointing the deeper structures, processes and mechanisms of change within interactional fields

Gary J. Buttriss and Ian F. Wilkinson

Australasian marketing journal, 2014, vol. 22, issue 1, 45-50

Abstract: This paper seeks to understand how we might identify the “underlying logics” and “deeper structures” that bring about change in phenomena. We argue that this represents a move from a classical perspective focusing on discrete exchange, and that this requires a processual or relational approach to understanding in contrast to a substantialist or variables-based approach. One way of advancing our understanding of the emergence of change is to consider the site of interaction. That is the interactional field where actors act and interact with other actors and entities as well as the broader environment; where resources are exchanged, imported or exported; where change is instigated and transferred across time and space. We suggest interactional fields are the sites of plasticity where change actually takes place. To understand the causal structure and processes taking place in an interactional field we draw on the concept of natural and social kinds. We discuss how interactional fields are located in time and space, which influence and are influenced by the trajectories of change and development. While we believe this applies to change in general we apply our thinking to organizational change.

Keywords: Emergence; Interaction; Change process; Mechanism; Social kinds; Complexity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1441358213000657
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:aumajo:v:22:y:2014:i:1:p:45-50

DOI: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2013.12.007

Access Statistics for this article

Australasian marketing journal is currently edited by Roger Marshall

More articles in Australasian marketing journal from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().