MACKENZIE’S WORK, TIPPING POINTS, AND DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC COMPETITION

Abstract

I briefly trace the development of Mackenzie’s work, spanning nearly four decades, against the backdrop of changes in university business administration teaching and research programs over the last 40 years or so. It is argued that his work is clearly processual and applied, integrates process with a number of different kinds of levels, and joins a number of other processual approaches different than his own to move beyond current mainstream Newtonian-based, “reality as a concrete structure,” organizational study emphases. Mackenzie’s and other processual work is discussed within tipping point (“that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire,” Gladwell, 2002, back cover) and dynamic systems notions (Sterman & Wittenberg, 1999) to predict the likelihood of these works’ reaching such a tipping point and ultimately becoming a crucial part of mainstream organizational studies. It is proposed that the ideas discussed above be incorporated into a formal dynamic systems model, along the lines of Sterman and Wittenberg’s.

Citation

Hunt, J.G.(. (2005), "MACKENZIE’S WORK, TIPPING POINTS, AND DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC COMPETITION", Yammarino, F.J. and Dansereau, F. (Ed.) Multi-level Issues in Organizational Behavior and Processes (Research in Multi-Level Issues, Vol. 3), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 419-433. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1475-9144(04)03018-8