PROBLEMATIZING FIT AND SURVIVAL: TRANSFORMING THE LAW OF REQUISITE VARIETY THROUGH COMPLEXITY MISALIGNMENT

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Poulis, Konstantinos; Poulis, Efthimios
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0363-7425
• DOI: 10.5465/amr.2014.0073
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 503-527
• 关键词: TOP EXECUTIVE COMMITMENT; CORE SELF-EVALUATIONS; INSTITUTIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP; organizational performance; DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES; STRATEGIC DECISIONS; CEO TENURE; status-quo; management; leadership

摘要

The law of requisite variety is widely employed in management theorizing and is linked with core strategy themes such as contingency and fit. We reflect upon requisite variety as an archetypal borrowed concept. We contrast its premises with insights from the institutional literature and commitment literature, draw propositions that set boundaries to its applicability, and review the ramifications of what we call complexity misalignment. In this way we contradict foundational assumptions of the law, problematize adaptation- and survival-centric views of strategizing, and theorize the role of human agency in variously complex regimes.