IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v27y2016i3p614-632.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Always Playable: Recombining Routines for Creative Efficiency at Ubisoft Montreal’s Video Game Studio

Author

Listed:
  • Patrick S. Cohendet

    (Department of International Business, HEC Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 2A7, Canada)

  • Laurent O. Simon

    (Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, HEC Montréal, Montréal, Quebec H3T 2A7, Canada)

Abstract

This study examines how an organization can redefine its core process when faced with a major crisis of creative efficiency. We analyze the case of the experimentation of the “Always Playable” project at Ubisoft Montreal, a leading video game development studio, where a crisis of creativity triggered an active reconfiguration of routines and their artifacts. To address this crisis, the organization attempted to restore a balance between efficiency and flexibility by modifying the generative relationship among the ostensive aspect, the performative aspect, and artifacts of routines. Our study shows that one way to reach this balance is by deliberately breaking, partitioning, and recombining aspects from different routines.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick S. Cohendet & Laurent O. Simon, 2016. "Always Playable: Recombining Routines for Creative Efficiency at Ubisoft Montreal’s Video Game Studio," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 614-632, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:27:y:2016:i:3:p:614-632
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2016.1062
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2016.1062
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.2016.1062?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Donald Mackenzie & Fabian Muniesa & Lucia Siu, 2007. "Do Economists Make Markets? On the Performativity of Economics," Post-Print halshs-00149145, HAL.
    2. Markus C. Becker & Nathalie Lazaric & Richard R. Nelson & Sidney G. Winter, 2005. "Applying organizational routines in understanding organizational change," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 14(5), pages 775-791, October.
    3. Jennifer A. Howard-Grenville, 2005. "The Persistence of Flexible Organizational Routines: The Role of Agency and Organizational Context," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(6), pages 618-636, December.
    4. Sidney G. Winter, 2000. "The Satisficing Principle in Capability Learning," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 981-996, October.
    5. Hobday, Mike, 2000. "The project-based organisation: an ideal form for managing complex products and systems?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 871-893, August.
    6. Paul R. Carlile, 2002. "A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 442-455, August.
    7. Nathalie Lazaric & Blandine Denis, 2005. "Routinisation and memorisation of tasks inside a workshop: the case of the introduction of ISO norms," Post-Print hal-00457079, HAL.
    8. Massimo Warglien & Alessandro Narduzzo & Elena Rocco, 1997. "Talking about routines in the field: the emergence of organizational capabiliies in a new cellular phone network company," CEEL Working Papers 9706, Cognitive and Experimental Economics Laboratory, Department of Economics, University of Trento, Italia.
    9. Martijn van der Steen, 2009. "Inertia and management accounting change," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(5), pages 736-761, June.
    10. Martha S. Feldman, 2004. "Resources in Emerging Structures and Processes of Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 295-309, June.
    11. Sendil K. Ethiraj & Daniel Levinthal, 2009. "Hoping for A to Z While Rewarding Only A: Complex Organizations and Multiple Goals," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 4-21, February.
    12. Scott F. Turner & Violina Rindova, 2012. "A Balancing Act: How Organizations Pursue Consistency in Routine Functioning in the Face of Ongoing Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 24-46, February.
    13. Maurizio Zollo & Sidney G. Winter, 2002. "Deliberate Learning and the Evolution of Dynamic Capabilities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 339-351, June.
    14. Georg Schreyögg & Jörg Sydow, 2010. "CROSSROADS---Organizing for Fluidity? Dilemmas of New Organizational Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(6), pages 1251-1262, December.
    15. Mark J. Zbaracki & Mark Bergen, 2010. "When Truces Collapse: A Longitudinal Study of Price-Adjustment Routines," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(5), pages 955-972, October.
    16. Martha S. Feldman, 2000. "Organizational Routines as a Source of Continuous Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(6), pages 611-629, December.
    17. Brian T. Pentland & Martha S. Feldman, 2005. "Organizational routines as a unit of analysis," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 14(5), pages 793-815, October.
    18. Beth A. Bechky, 2003. "Sharing Meaning Across Occupational Communities: The Transformation of Understanding on a Production Floor," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(3), pages 312-330, June.
    19. Linda Rouleau & Julia Balogun, 2011. "Middle Managers, Strategic Sensemaking, and Discursive Competence," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48, pages 953-983, July.
    20. Nathalie Lazaric & Blandine Denis, 2005. "Routinization and memorization of tasks in a workshop: the case of the introduction of ISO norms," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 14(5), pages 873-896, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Inés Gabarret & Aude D’andria & Annie Bartoli & Philippe Hermel & Alain Bouvier & Bérangère L. Szostak & Yasmine Boughzala, 2023. "Les cahiers de la recherche du LAREQUOI Vol. 2023/1," Post-Print hal-04648222, HAL.
    2. Steele, Logan M. & Watts, Logan L., 2022. "Managing technical innovation: A systematic review of 11 leader functions," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Mario Le Glatin & Pascal Le Masson & Benoit Weil, 2016. "Measuring the generative power of an organisational routine with design theories: the case of design thinking in a large firm," Post-Print hal-01367471, HAL.
    5. Diane Bailey & Samer Faraj & Pamela Hinds & Georg von Krogh & Paul Leonardi, 2019. "Special Issue of Organization Science: Emerging Technologies and Organizing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 642-646, May.
    6. Thomas Paris & Gerald Lang & David Massé, 2019. "Polarized Worlds and Contextual Creativity in Creative Industries: The Case of Creation Processes in the Perfume Industry [Mundos polarizados y creatividad contextual en las industrias creativas: e," Post-Print hal-03066164, HAL.
    7. Davies, Andrew & Frederiksen, Lars & Cacciatori, Eugenia & Hartmann, Andreas, 2018. "The long and winding road: Routine creation and replication in multi-site organizations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8), pages 1403-1417.
    8. Chiambaretto, Paul & Massé, David & Mirc, Nicola, 2019. "“All for One and One for All?” - Knowledge broker roles in managing tensions of internal coopetition: The Ubisoft case," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 584-600.
    9. Anja Danner-Schröder, 2021. "Without actors, there is no action: How interpersonal interactions help to explain routine dynamics," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(7), pages 1913-1936, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Luciana D’Adderio, 2014. "The Replication Dilemma Unravelled: How Organizations Enact Multiple Goals in Routine Transfer," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(5), pages 1325-1350, October.
    2. Paul Spee & Paula Jarzabkowski & Michael Smets, 2016. "The Influence of Routine Interdependence and Skillful Accomplishment on the Coordination of Standardizing and Customizing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 759-781, June.
    3. Anja Danner-Schröder, 2021. "Without actors, there is no action: How interpersonal interactions help to explain routine dynamics," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(7), pages 1913-1936, October.
    4. 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.
    5. Katharina Dittrich & Stéphane Guérard & David Seidl, 2016. "Talking About Routines: The Role of Reflective Talk in Routine Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 678-697, June.
    6. Philip Stiles & Jonathan Trevor & Elaine Farndale & Shad S. Morris & Jaap Paauwe & Guenter Stahl & Patrick Wright, 2015. "Changing Routine: Reframing Performance Management within a Multinational," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 63-88, January.
    7. 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.
    8. Giada Baldessarelli & Nathalie Lazaric & Michele Pezzoni, 2022. "Organizational routines: Evolution in the research landscape of two core communities," Post-Print halshs-03718851, HAL.
    9. Niki A. den Nieuwenboer & João Vieira da Cunha & Linda Klebe Treviño, 2017. "Middle Managers and Corruptive Routine Translation: The Social Production of Deceptive Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(5), pages 781-803, October.
    10. D'Adderio, Luciana, 2008. "The performativity of routines: Theorising the influence of artefacts and distributed agencies on routines dynamics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 769-789, June.
    11. 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.
    12. Stephanie Bertels & Jennifer Howard-Grenville & Simon Pek, 2016. "Cultural Molding, Shielding, and Shoring at Oilco: The Role of Culture in the Integration of Routines," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 573-593, 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. Aura Parmentier-Cajaiba & Nathalie Lazaric & Giovany Cajaiba-Santana, 2021. "The effortful process of routines emergence: the interplay of entrepreneurial actions and artefacts," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 33-63, January.
    15. 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.
    16. Waldemar Kremser & Georg Schreyögg, 2016. "The Dynamics of Interrelated Routines: Introducing the Cluster Level," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 698-721, June.
    17. Neil M Kay, 2018. "We need to talk: opposing narratives and conflicting perspectives in the conversation on routines," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 27(6), pages 943-956.
    18. Martha S. Feldman & Wanda J. Orlikowski, 2011. "Theorizing Practice and Practicing Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1240-1253, October.
    19. Nathalie Lazaric, 2021. "Cognition and Routine Dynamics," Post-Print halshs-03402421, HAL.
    20. 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.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:27:y:2016:i:3:p:614-632. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.