Coordination practices in extreme situations

Bouty Isabelle, Godé Cécile, Drucker-Godard Carole, Lièvre Pascal, Nizet Jean and Pichault François

European Management Journal, 2012, vol. 30, issue 6, 475-489

Abstract: This article addresses coordination practices in extreme situations. Whereas past literature has heavily focused on a structural and contingent approach of the phenomena, we argue that a practice-based approach of coordination fruitfully enhances our understanding. We draw on an abductive approach and perform a systematic comparative analysis of four case studies: the crew of a sailing boat engaged in a race, military air and ground forces in theater, medical staff in a neonatology unit and a polar expedition confronted with polar bears. We outline highly heterogeneous coordination practices along four dimensions (formalization, verticality, openness, and specificity). Our results lead to invalidate both a configurational and a contingent perspective on coordination. We show that despite high heterogeneity, these four attributes represent a useful framework for managers to leverage coordination practices produced in situ.

Keywords: Coordination; Extreme situation; Practices; Case studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eurman:v:30:y:2012:i:6:p:475-489

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DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2012.03.015

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