A new perspective on: evolutionary processes and organizational adaptation

Thorbjørn Knudsen ()
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Thorbjørn Knudsen: Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

Journal of Organization Design, 2022, vol. 11, issue 3, 111-114

Abstract: Abstract Levinthal’s (Evolutionary processes and organizational adaptation: a Mendelian perspective on strategic management. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2021) book is not only a helpful resource on the many facets of organizational adaptation, but also a source of inspiration that promises to revitalize research on organizational evolution. Taking inspiration from this book, I outline a perspective on three topics that may enrich management research: (1) Levinthal’s treatment of path-dependence is a much-needed candidate for a general account of selection processes across biological and social domains; (2) Levinthal’s idea that corporate diversification and technological disruption may be considered instances of speciation—i.e., branching of lineages—(re)frames an exciting research agenda at the intersection of ecology and evolution; (3) Considering executives as a population of fruit flies may, from the perspective of empirical research, be a useful complement to the idea of the Mendelian executive.

Keywords: Organizational adaptation; Path-dependence; Selection processes; Ecology; Evolution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s41469-022-00120-y

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