The notion of paradox dates back to ancient philosophy, yet only recently have scholars started to explore this idea in organizational phenomena. Two decades ago, a handful of provocative theorists urged researchers to take seriously the study of paradox, and thereby deepen our understanding of plurality, tensions, and contradictions in organizational life.
Studies of organizational paradox have grown exponentially over the past two decades, canvassing varied phenomena, methods, and levels of analysis. These studies have explored such tensions as today and tomorrow, global integration and local distinctions, collaboration and competition, self and others, mission and markets. Yet even with both the depth and breadth of interest in organizational paradoxes, key issues around definitions and application remain. This Handbook seeks to aid, engage, and fuel the expanding interest in organizational paradox. Contributions to this volume depict how paradox studies inform, and are informed, by other theoretical perspectives, while creating a resource that enables scholars to learn about and apply this lens across varied organizational phenomena. The increasing complexity, volatility, and ambiguity in our world continually surfaces paradoxical dynamics. Thus, this Handbook offers insights to scholars across organizational theory.
Foreword, Bob Quinn and Mrudula Nujella,
Introduction, Wendy Smith, Marianne Lewis, Paula Jarzabkowski, and Ann Langley
Part I: Foundations and Approaches
1: Ad Fontes: Philosophical Foundations of Paradox Research, Jonathan Schad
2: Psychoanalytic Theory, Emotion and Organizational Paradox, Michael Jarrett and Russ Vince
3: A Roadmap of the Paradoxical Mind: Expanding Cognitive Theories on Organizational Paradox, Josh Keller and Erica Wen Chen
4: What Paradox?: Developing a Process Syntax for Organizational Research, Robin Holt and Mike Zundel
5: Organizational Dialectics, Stewart Clegg and Miguel Pinha de Cuhna
6: Cultural: Eastern vs. Circumventing the Logic and Limits of Representation: Otherness in East-West Approaches to ParadoxApproaches, Robert Chia and Ajit Nayak
Part II: Paradoxical Phenomena in and Beyond Organizations
7: Critical Management Studies and Paradox, Koen van Bommel and Andre Spicer
8: Beyond Managerial Dilemmas: The Study of Institutional Paradoxes in Organization Theory, Paul Tracey and Doug Creed
9: Paradoxes of Organizational Identity, Marya Besharov and Garima Sharma
10: Alternate Prisms for Pluralism and Paradox in Organizations, Mariline Comeau-Vallée, Jean-Louis Denis, Julie-Maude Normandin, and Marie-Christine Therrien
11: Paradox in Positive Organizational Scholarship, Kim Cameron
12: Managing Normative Tensions Within and Across Organizations: What can the Economies of Worth and Paradox Frameworks Learn From Each Other?, Jean-Pascal Gond, Christiane Demers, and Valerie Michaud
13: The Role of Irony and Metaphor in Working through Paradox During Organizational Change, John Sillince and Ben Golant
14: Reflections on the Paradoxes of Modernity: A Conversation with James March, Richard Badham
15: Paradox at an Inter-firm Level: A Coopetition Lens, Maria Bengtsson and Tatbeeq Raza-Ullah
16: Pathways to Ambidexterity: A Process Perspective on the Exploration-Exploitation Paradox, Sebastian Raisch and Alexander Zimmermann
17: Gender and Organizational Paradox, Linda L. Putnam and Karen L. Ashcraft
18: Navigating the Paradoxes of Sustainability, Jason Jay, Sara Soderstrom, and Gabriel Grant
19: The Paradoxes of Time in Organizations, Natalie Slawinski and Tima Bansal
20: On Organizational Circularity: Vicious and Virtuous Circles in Organizing, Hari Tsoukas and Miguel Pinha de Cuhna
21: Tensions in Managing Human Resources: Introducing a Paradox Framework and Research Agenda, Ina Aust and Julia Brandl
22: Looking at Creativity Through a Paradox Lens: Deeper Understanding and New Insights, Ella Miron-Spektor and Miriam Erez
23: "I am...I said": Paradoxical Tensions of Individual Identity, Matthew Sheep, Glen Kreiner, and Gail Fairhurst
24: The Paradoxical Mystery of the Missing Differences Between Academics and Practitioners, Eliana Crosina and Jean Bartunek
25: Paradox in Everyday Practice: Applying Practice-Theoretical Principles to Paradox, Jane Le and Rebecca Bednarek
Part III: Engaging Paradoxes
26: Methods of Paradox, Costas Andriopoulos and Manto Gotsi
27: Expanding Paradox-Pedagogy Links: Paradox as a Threshold Concept in Management Education, Eric Knight and Sotirios Paroutis
28: Paradox and Polarities: Finding Common Ground and Moving Forward Together: A Case Study of Polarity Thinking and Action in Charleston, South Carolina, Cliff Kayser, Margaret Seidler, and Barry Johnson
