POLITICAL AND APOLITICAL ACTION: TOWARD A RECONCILIATION OF CONTRADICTORY MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
The International Journal of Organizational Analysis
ISSN: 1055-3185
Article publication date: 1 April 1993
Abstract
Two models of organizational behavior are reviewed. The apolitical model describes a relatively stable and centralized monolith, while the political model describes a potentially unstable federation of self‐interested parties. It is argued that the apolitical model is largely predicated on social and generalized exchange and forces for stability, while the political model is largely predicated on economic and dyadic exchange and forces for instability. It is further argued that the contradictions inherent in these forces help fuel evolutionary change (where the apolitical model becomes most salient), punctuated by revolutionary change (where the political model becomes most salient). Thus, the two models apply simultaneously to organizational action, suggesting that the organization can be seen as both a stable monolith and an unstable coalition.
Citation
Ashforth, B.E. (1993), "POLITICAL AND APOLITICAL ACTION: TOWARD A RECONCILIATION OF CONTRADICTORY MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR", The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 1 No. 4, pp. 363-384. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb028796
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1993, MCB UP Limited