Understanding Organizations in Complex, Emergent and Uncertain Environments

by Davila, Anabella; Elvira, Marta; Ramirez, Jacobo; Zapata-Cantu, Laura

• ISBN13: 9780230290020
• ISBN10: 0230290027
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-07-17
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Explores the concept of complexity and analyses how organizational governance can contribute to environmental sustainability. A common theme in these chapters is that organizations actively engage with their environments. Consequently, organizational responses are partly the result of iterative processes with the environment.

Author Biography

Ababella Davila is Professor of Organization Theory and the Research and Ph.D. Program Director at EGADE Business School, Technologico de Monterrey, Mexico. Her research interests include culture and management practices in Latin American organizations. Her work examines the social logic that governs business organizations. Marta M. Elvira is Professor at IESE Business School, University of Navarre, Spain. Besides human resource management in Latin America and incentives in organizations, her main research is on social inequality and human capital development. She is currently studying the coordination of health and social services, its implications on occupations, and the role of technology in care coordination. Jacobo Ramirez is External Lecturer at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Denmark. His research interests include HRM, education, institutions and national context, and cross-cultural studies. Laura Zapata-Cantu is Associate Professor of Strategy at EGADE Business School, Technologico de Monterrey, Mexico. Her research interests include management processes, strategic planning and human resource management in small, medium and international enterprises.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	p. vii
Notes on Contributors	p. ix
Foreword	p. xvi
Understanding Organizations in Complex, Emergent and Uncertain Environments: An Introduction	p. 1
Complex Organizational Environments and Governance
How Organizations Engage with External Complexity: A Political Action Perspective	p. 13
The Social Dimension of Boards' Role in Better Corporate Governance	p. 45
Promoting Leadership in Governance and Governance in Leadership: Towards a Supportive Research Agenda	p. 68
SME Adoption of Environmental Management Practices: Four Exploratory Case Studies	p. 84
Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship in Complex Environments
Engaging Small Businesses in Innovation: Building Absorptive Capacity through 'R&D Clubs'	p. 109
Exploring the Determinants and Dimensionality of SME e-Collaboration Trust	p. 129
Exploring Managerial Perceptions of the Innovation Process in Mexico	p. 143
The Role of Physical Space and Information Technologies in Knowledge Transfer Processes within SMEs	p. 154
The Motivation and Management of Highly Specialized Creative Employees	p. 167
From Life in Cages to Life in Projects: Metaphors for Moderns	p. 185
Index	p. 207
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