A Podcast About Organization Theory and Management Studies

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  • 120: Institutional Isomorphism — DiMaggio & Powell
    In this episode, we discuss “The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizations,” a ground breaking article by sociologists Paul DiMaggio and Walter Powell in 1983. The authors argued that the traditional views of why organizations tended to assimilate one another was not explained by the pursuit of rationality or efficiency. Rather, they did so in response to many other stimuli such as regulatory pressures, professional norms, and the need to reduce uncertainty. But why “the iron cage revisited”? The article was inspired by Weber’s use of the metaphor to describe how bureaucratization was destined to enslave humanity. That it did not (at least not to the extent anticipated) spurred the question of why else do organizations model themselves after others in their fields.

All Episodes

A wonderful podcast on org theory, covering a range of critical topics/readings that define organisation and management studies; run by the best of our young scholars. Listen in!

Maja Korica, Associate Professor at Warwick Business School, UK

Here is a very worthwhile initiative – an impressive number of podcasts about organizational theory conducted by PhD students and junior faculty. Some big names in org theory make guests appearances…

Nicolai J. Foss, Professor at Bocconi University, Italy

The portions I heard were excellent with both depth and continuity. This is a valuable project and this is well executed.

Karl E. Weick, Professor Emeritus at University of Michigan, US

Meet the Podcasters

Tom Galvin

EdD / Podcaster / Administrator

Tom is an Assistant Professor of resource management at the U.S. Army War College, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He teaches courses in strategic leadership and defense management, and has published on matters of professional education, organizational change and communication, and professionalism. He also hosts the Reflections on Management with Tom Galvin program on the Talking About Organizations Network. Linkedin

Pedro Monteiro

PhD / Co-founder / Podcaster

Pedro is an ethnographer of work and organizations focused on bureaucracy/formal organizational structures. He is currently an assistant professor at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Twitter Linkedin Website

Miranda Lewis

PhD / Co-founder / Podcaster

Currently a PhD student at the University of Warwick Business School in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation group, Miranda’s research looks at top management teams and the nexus between cognition and growth literature. Linkedin

Gretta Corporaal

PhD / Podcaster

A sociologist of work and organizations, Gretta’s academic interests center around the future of work and how digital technologies enable new models of work and organizing to emerge. Her current research is an ethnography of the creation and adoption of online labor platforms. Linkedin Website Twitter

Samantha Ortiz-Casillas

PhD / Podcaster

Sam is an ethnographer of work and organization in the contexts of public administration and political collective action. Her research examines how people organize and work towards social change—through public policy, regulation, or community organizing—in complex and sometimes hostile environments. She is an assistant professor at the Public Administration Division of the Center for Economics Research and Teaching (CIDE) in Mexico City. Linkedin Twitter Website

Sarah Otner

PhD / Podcaster

Sarah is an Assistant Professor (Senior Lecturer) of Organizational Behavior at Kingston Business School. She works at the intersection of Organizational Theory and Economic Sociology. Sarah’s research focuses on awards and prizes, with specific phenomenological interests in cultural domains, the evaluation of elites, and non-linear career trajectories. She serves on the Editorial Board of Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ). Twitter Linkedin Website

Catherine Jackson

MBA / Podcaster

Catherine holds an MBA from the Warwick Business School. A journalist by trade, for the past 11 years she has been working in the not-for-profit sector as a consultant in fundraising and communications. Previously she worked as a print journalist for publications in the UK and Ireland. Linkedin

Leonardo Melo Lins

PhD / Podcaster

A sociologist by training, Leonardo currently works at the Brazilian Network Center (NIC.br) where he is responsible for the conduction of the ICT Enterprises survey and to promote the use of ICT by Brazilian enterprises. His research interests include institutional theory, organizational change, digital economy, and public policy to foster development. Linkedin Twitter

Frithjof Wegener

MSc / Podcaster

Frithjof is a PhD Candidate at the TU Delft, NL. He works across the boundaries of design and organization studies, with an interest in pragmatism, process research and issues of organizational design. Linkedin Twitter

Rohin Borpujari

PhD Candidate / Podcaster

Rohin Borpujari is a PhD Candidate at the London Business School. His dissertation investigates how secretive innovation is organized, using an in-depth historical case study of the Manhattan Project. Rohin’s research aims to understand how people navigate knowledge sharing and concealment while managing associated social dynamics of inclusion and exclusion within and across organizations. His work on the Manhattan Project has been recognized with Best Paper and Murray Davis ‘Thats Interesting!’ awards at AOM and EGOS respectively. He joined as a guest on Episode 92: Organizational Secrecy — Case of the Manhattan Project and joined as a full-time cast member in 2023. LinkedIn

Ralph Soule

EdD / Co-founder / Podcaster

Ralph (also known as “Rafael”) is a retired United States Navy Captain and a co-creator of the podcast. He holds a Doctorate in Human and Organizational Learning from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Twitter Linkedin

Dmitrijs Kravčenko

PhD / Founder / Administrator

A philosophically inclined social epistemologist, Dmitrijs is the creator of the podcast and is currently Assistant Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvia. He holds a Doctorate in Management from Warwick Business School, UK. Twitter Linkedin Website

Jarryd Daymond

PhD / Cast Member (2017-2022)

Jarryd is a Postdoctoral Researcher at The University of Sydney Business School and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Jarryd’s research examines strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship practices in organizations, which are areas he first became interested in while consulting on strategy interventions. His current postdoctoral work includes collaborating with scientists, engineers and biomedical researchers to advance knowledge about science commercialization. Linkedin Twitter

Maikel Waardenburg

PhD / Cast Member (2018-2022)

An interpretive scholar, who is particularly interested in connections between organizations from different domains. Maikel’s research interests include organizational change, hybridization and public-private partnerships. He is based at Utrecht University’s School of Governance, NL. Linkedin Twitter Website

Ella Hafermalz

PhD / Cast Member (2017-2020)

Ella Hafermalz joined the KIN research group in 2018. Ella has a PhD in Information Systems and Work and Organisational Studies from the University of Sydney Business School in Australia and also holds degrees in Teaching, Media and Communications, and Cultural Studies from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research looks at how technologies are used to facilitate new ways of working. Ella is particularly interested in how distance and remoteness are experienced by workers, and her research has looked at how colleagues skillfully use technologies to achieve a sense of being together even when they are physically apart.

For sophisticated and engaging discussions of organization theory, look no further than the Talking About Organizations site. Highly recommended!

Chris Grey, Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

TAOP has become my virtual Organizational Studies network that I have access to from the comfort of my own daily routines. Highly recommend it!

Raluca Stana, PhD Fellow at IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark

TAOP blends the best of modern technology with the joys of the old-fashioned conversation. It gave me permission to slow down, pour a glass of sherry, snuggle in a comfortable chair, listen in and take an occasional note, knowing I could share my thoughts later on its blog

Albie M. Davis, Writer and former Director of Mediation for the Massachusetts District Courts, US

Special Guests

All the people who made an appearance on the podcast, and their corresponding episodes.

Prof. Peter Adamson (LMU Munich; History of Philosophy without any Gaps podcast):

Prof. Mats Alvesson (UQ Business School; Lund University)

Prof. Emma Bell (Open University)

Rohin Borpujari (PhD Candidate, London Business School)— now a cast member

Dr. Deborah Brewis (Bath University)

Dr. Todd Bridgman (Victoria University of Wellington)

Prof. Gino Cattani (NYU Stern)

Dr. Lisa Cohen (McGill University)

Prof. Stephen Cummings (Victoria University of Wellington)

Dr. Katharina Dittrich (Warwick Business School)

Prof. Paul Duguid (University of California, Berkeley)

Dr. Anna Rylander Eklund (Chalmers University of Technology)

Prof. Marianna Fotaki (Warwick Business School)

Dr. Barton Friedland (University of the Arts, London)

Prof. Bob Hinings (University of Alberta)

Dr. Summer Jackson (Harvard Business School)

Dr. Paul Kan (U.S. Army War College)

Prof. Sarah Kaplan (Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto)

Dr. Maja Korica (Warwick Business School)

Prof. Ann Langley (HEC Montreal)

Dr. Hila Lifshitz-Assaf (New York University – Stern School of Business)

Mr. Thomas A. Mercer (Rear Admiral, US Navy, retired)

Prof. Henry Mintzberg (McGill University)

Dr. Bjørn Erik Mørk (BI Norwegian Business School)

Dr. Davide Nicolini (Warwick Business School)

Dr. Sarah Otner (Imperial College London) — now a cast member

Prof. Brian Pentland (Michigan State University; Doctor Decade)

Prof. Andrew M. Pettigrew OBE (University of Oxford)

Dr. Simone Phipps (Middle Georgia State University)

Dr. Leon C. Prieto (Clayton State University)

Prof. Trish Reay (Warwick Business School; University of Alberta)

Dr. Thomas Roulet (University of Cambridge)

Prof. Denise M. Rousseau (Carnegie Mellon University)

Prof. Jörgen Sandberg (UQ Business School; Warwick Business School)

Dr. Bill Starbuck (New York University)

Dr. Arianna Tassinari (European University Institute)

Prof. Hari Tsoukas (Warwick Business School; University of Cyprus)

Prof. Signe Vikkelsø (Copenhagen Business School)

Dr. Judy Wajcman (London School of Economics)

Prof. Mike Wright (1952-2019) (Imperial College London)

Prof. Tammar Zilber (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

I found the Talking About Organizations podcasts an excellent and very engaging way of introducing both classical and contemporary organization and management theories

Jörgen Sandberg, Professor at University of Queensland Business School, Australia

I found the podcast refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable. The conversation was insightful, instructive and the comments often sharp and perceptive. I am really impressed.

Davide Nicolini, Professor at Warwick Business School, UK

This is a brilliant podcast, building upon the idea that a lot of management scholars actually have no time to read the original masterpieces in their field. Here, we get them presented in a neat package, including a critical analysis of content as well as applicability and relevance

Daniel Semper, Research Fellow at WU Vienna, Austria

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