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The (N)Ever-Changing World: Stability and Change in Organizational Routines

Author

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  • Brian T. Pentland

    (Department of Accounting and Information Systems, Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824)

  • Thorvald Hærem

    (Department of Leadership and Organisational Management, Norwegian School of Management, N-0442 Oslo, Norway)

  • Derek Hillison

    (Department of Management, College of Business, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306)

Abstract

This paper uses data on invoice processing in four organizations to distinguish empirically between two competing theories of organizational routines. One theory predicts that routines should generate patterns of action that are few in number and stable over time, and that atypical patterns of action are driven primarily by exceptional inputs. The competing theory predicts the opposite. By modeling the routines as networks of action and using a first-order Markov model to test for stationarity, we find support for the competing theory. The routines generated hundreds of unique patterns that changed significantly during a five-month period without any apparent external intervention. Changes did not appear to reflect improved performance or learning. Furthermore, we found that exogenous factors (such as large invoices from unusual vendors) are not associated with atypical patterns of action, but endogenous factors (such as the experience of the participants) are. We also found that increased automation can increase variation under some circumstances. These findings offer empirical support for endogenous change in organizational routines and underscore the importance of the sociomaterial context in understanding stability and change.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian T. Pentland & Thorvald Hærem & Derek Hillison, 2011. "The (N)Ever-Changing World: Stability and Change in Organizational Routines," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(6), pages 1369-1383, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:22:y:2011:i:6:p:1369-1383
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0624
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Gilstrap, J. Bruce & Hart, Timothy A., 2020. "How employee behaviors effect organizational change and stability," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 120-131.
    3. Daniella Laureiro-Martinez, 2014. "Cognitive Control Capabilities, Routinization Propensity, and Decision-Making Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(4), pages 1111-1133, August.
    4. Dehua Gao & Aliakbar Akbaritabar, 2022. "Using agent-based modeling in routine dynamics research: a quantitative and content analysis of literature," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 521-550, February.
    5. Fleur Deken & Paul R. Carlile & Hans Berends & Kristina Lauche, 2016. "Generating Novelty Through Interdependent Routines: A Process Model of Routine Work," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 659-677, June.
    6. Rouslan Koumakhov & Adel Daoud, 2017. "Routine and reflexivity: Simonian cognitivism vs practice approach," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 26(4), pages 727-743.
    7. Hanisch, Marvin & Goldsby, Curtis M. & Fabian, Nicolai E. & Oehmichen, Jana, 2023. "Digital governance: A conceptual framework and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    8. Guo, Jingjing & Guo, Bin & Zhou, Jianghua & Wu, Xiaobo, 2020. "How does the ambidexterity of technological learning routine affect firm innovation performance within industrial clusters? The moderating effects of knowledge attributes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    9. Mertens, Willem & Recker, Jan, 2020. "How store managers can empower their teams to engage in constructive deviance: Theory development through a multiple case study," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    10. Curtis LeBaron & Marlys K. Christianson & Lyndon Garrett & Roy Ilan, 2016. "Coordinating Flexible Performance During Everyday Work: An Ethnomethodological Study of Handoff Routines," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 514-534, June.
    11. Giada Baldessarelli & Nathalie Lazaric & Michele Pezzoni, 2022. "Organizational routines: Evolution in the research landscape of two core communities," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 1119-1154, September.
    12. Martha S. Feldman & Brian T. Pentland & Luciana D’Adderio & Nathalie Lazaric, 2016. "Beyond Routines as Things: Introduction to the Special Issue on Routine Dynamics," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 505-513, June.
    13. Anja Danner-Schröder & Daniel Geiger, 2016. "Unravelling the Motor of Patterning Work: Toward an Understanding of the Microlevel Dynamics of Standardization and Flexibility," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 633-658, June.
    14. Maroun, Warren & Duboisée de Ricquebourg, Alan, 2024. "How auditors identify and report key audit matters - An organizational routines perspective," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(2).
    15. Waldemar Kremser & Georg Schreyögg, 2016. "The Dynamics of Interrelated Routines: Introducing the Cluster Level," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 698-721, June.
    16. Robert Hurley, 2023. "An Organizational Capacity for Trustworthiness: A Dynamic Routines Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(3), pages 589-601, December.
    17. Savéria Cecchi & Evelyne Rouby, 2017. "Towards Artifacts Assemblage In Routine Dynamics: The Exploratory Case Of Nurses' Handoff In A Neonatal Unit," Post-Print hal-01649883, HAL.
    18. Sangyoon Yi & Thorbjørn Knudsen & Markus C. Becker, 2016. "Inertia in Routines: A Hidden Source of Organizational Variation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 782-800, June.
    19. Jeremy Aroles & Christine McLean, 2016. "Rethinking Stability and Change in the Study of Organizational Routines: Difference and Repetition in a Newspaper-Printing Factory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 535-550, June.
    20. Mertens, Willem & Recker, Jan, 2020. "Can constructive deviance be empowered? A multi-level field study in Australian supermarkets," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).

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