本文精选了管理学国际顶刊《Journal of Management》近期发表的论文，提供管理学研究领域最新的学术动态。

The Role of Language in Organizational Sensemaking: An Integrative Theoretical Framework and an Agenda for Future Research

原刊和作者：

Journal of Management Volume49, Issue6

Andrea Whittle （Newcastle University）

Eero Vaara （University of Oxford）

Sally Maitlis （University of Oxford）

Abstract

Despite the rapid growth of research on organizational sensemaking and an acknowledgment of the critical role of language in the sensemaking process, the literature on sensemaking and language is fragmented. In particular, there is no systematic review that explains the roles and functions of different linguistic elements in meaning construction. The purpose of this review paper is to develop an integrative theoretical framework that organizes existing research in a way that allows us to better understand how different linguistic processes shape the construction of meaning in sensemaking. First, we explain how a cognitive linguistic perspective elucidates how language provides the cognitive associations, schema, and frames used in sensemaking. Second, we discuss how a focus on the social practices of language use, as in rhetorical, narrative, or interactionist approaches, illuminates the patterns of meaning-making among organizational members in social interaction. Third, we explain how a focus on discourse helps us to understand how discursive structures enable or constrain sensemaking and thereby reproduce or transform systems of thought. This leads us to turn to the differences in these perspectives and suggest how they can be brought together in an integrative theoretical framework. Finally, we discuss the contributions of our framework and propose an agenda for future research focusing on the multifaceted role of language in sensemaking, intertextual and multimodal links in the language of sensemaking, the agentic and structural role of language in sensemaking, episodic and latent aspects of language use in sensemaking, and the role of power in discursive sensemaking.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063221147295

Purpose in the For-Profit Firm: A Review and Framework for Management Research

原刊和作者：

Journal of Management Volume49, Issue6

Gerard George （Georgetown University）

Martine R. Haas （University of Pennsylvania）

Anita M. McGahan （University of Toronto）

Simon J. D. Schillebeeckx （Singapore Management University）

Paul Tracey （University of Cambridge）

Abstract

Purpose is a concept often used in managerial communities to signal and define a firm’s benevolent and pluralistic approach to its stakeholders beyond its focus on shareholders. While some evidence has linked purpose to positive organizational outcomes such as growth, employee satisfaction, innovation, and superior stock market performance, the definition and application of purpose in management research has been varied and frequently ambiguous. We review literature streams that invoke purpose in the for-profit firm and propose a unifying definition. Next, we develop a framework to study purpose that decouples its framing and formalization within firms from its realization, thus helping to avoid conflation of the presence of purpose with positive organizational outcomes. The framework also highlights internal and external drivers that shape the framing of purpose as well as the influence of the institutional context on its adoption and effectiveness. Finally, we provide a rich agenda for future research on purpose.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063211006450

Corporate Political Connections: A Multidisciplinary Review

原刊和作者：

Journal of Management Volume49, Issue6

Yifan Wei （University of Manitoba）

Nan Jia （University of Southern California）

Jean-Philippe Bonardi （University of Lausanne）

Abstract

Corporate political connections (CPCs)—ties that firms forge with political actors—directly affect firms, political actors, and various stakeholders in societies. This topic has been studied extensively in multiple disciplines, including management, economics and finance, political science, and sociology. However, this body of research remains rather fragmented within the confines of each discipline or field, and synergies in theoretical and empirical domains remain underexploited. Differences between CPCs and other forms of corporate political activities are also often unclear. This article develops a focused, comprehensive, and theoretically deep review of the rapidly growing but disparate literature on CPCs in multiple disciplines and fields and distinguishes, compares, and connects multiple, heterogeneous theoretical perspectives that have been adopted in these different literatures. By conducting an extensive literature search of the articles published between 1990 and 2020 in 24 leading peer-reviewed journals in management, economics and finance, political science, and sociology, we build our review framework by organizing the reviewed articles into three groups of topics based on their logical connections: the conceptualization of CPCs, the antecedents of CPCs, and the outcomes of CPCs. Within each group, we distinguish two primary angles—the firm and the political actor—that correspond to the two entities joined by CPCs. On the basis of this framework, we identify major gaps and suggest avenues for future research. Our review works together with a companion review on corporate political activity, published in this same issue, to offer a wholistic perspective on the boundary between corporations and political actors.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206322113683

Strategic Rhythms: Insights and Research Directions

原刊和作者：

Journal of Management Volume49, Issue6

Pengxiang Zhang （Peking University）

Richard Priem （Texas Christian University）

Donghan Wang （Communication University of China）

Sali Li （University of South Carolina）

Abstract

Strategic rhythms concern how managers intentionally organize strategic activities by mapping them to the time continuum in hopes of improving a firm's long-term prospects. We develop a clear conceptual scope for strategic rhythms research. We take stock of the research on: rhythms of repeated strategic activity (e.g., serial acquisitions); rhythms of multiple strategic activities (e.g., sequencing activities for innovation); and comparison of strategic rhythms (e.g., for the firm, its rivals, the environment). We synthesize this literature in an integrative framework explaining the antecedents, content, and outcomes of strategic rhythms. We identify firm-level and environmental constraints that limit managers’ discretion in enacting strategic rhythms, and we demonstrate two pathways through which managers may loosen those constraints. Finally, we identify promising opportunities for future research and suggest empirical techniques that will likely be useful for studying strategic rhythms.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063221127910

Human Sustainability and Work: A Meta-Synthesis and New Theoretical Framework

Journal of Management Volume49, Issue6

Christopher M. Barnes （University of Washington）

David T. Wagner （University of Oregon）

Kira Schabram （University of Washington）

Dorian Boncoeur （University of Notre Dame）

Abstract

How can work be accomplished while sustaining the human capital that enables it? To date, research on this question has been piecemeal and indirect with different literatures and paradigms offering important but not integrated insights. In this meta-synthesis, we reviewed 368 meta-analyses and review articles published this millennium, sampled from the vast body of research relevant to employee health and well-being. We organize our review using dynamic energy budget theory (DEB), a life-sciences framework that describes how nonhuman animals achieve biological sustainability by balancing maintenance, growth, and generativity. After identifying the ways this research fits within DEB, we develop restricted employee sustainability theory (REST), which describes the ways in which human sustainability goes beyond the fundamental biological necessities outlined in DEB and encompasses the functions (maintenance, growth, generativity) that enable humans to sustain their physical, psychological, and social health. Organization of this vast literature allows us to identify synergies and dynamic balances among the life functions; understand how humans recover after a dramatic crash in health; and articulate the distinctions among subsisting, surviving, and thriving at work. We conclude this meta-synthesis and theory development by offering a roadmap to advance research on human sustainability at work as a unified area of study, guided by our new framework—restricted employee sustainability theory (REST).

Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063221131541