The (N)Ever-Changing World: Stability and Change in Organizational Routines

Brian T. Pentland (), Thorvald Hærem () and Derek Hillison ()
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Brian T. Pentland: Department of Accounting and Information Systems, Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824
Thorvald Hærem: Department of Leadership and Organisational Management, Norwegian School of Management, N-0442 Oslo, Norway
Derek Hillison: Department of Management, College of Business, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306

Organization Science, 2011, vol. 22, issue 6, 1369-1383

Abstract: This paper uses data on invoice processing in four organizations to distinguish empirically between two competing theories of organizational routines. One theory predicts that routines should generate patterns of action that are few in number and stable over time, and that atypical patterns of action are driven primarily by exceptional inputs. The competing theory predicts the opposite. By modeling the routines as networks of action and using a first-order Markov model to test for stationarity, we find support for the competing theory. The routines generated hundreds of unique patterns that changed significantly during a five-month period without any apparent external intervention. Changes did not appear to reflect improved performance or learning. Furthermore, we found that exogenous factors (such as large invoices from unusual vendors) are not associated with atypical patterns of action, but endogenous factors (such as the experience of the participants) are. We also found that increased automation can increase variation under some circumstances. These findings offer empirical support for endogenous change in organizational routines and underscore the importance of the sociomaterial context in understanding stability and change.

Keywords: organizational routines; networks of action; sociomateriality; stability and change; workflow system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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