This paper considers STS aspirations to engage with the field of Organization and Management Studies (OMS). It does so by investigating the employability of the concept of boundary object in OMS. Through an extensive literature review, the paper shows that rather than a simple engagement between STS and OMS the relation between the two consists of multi-layered (non-)engagements. The paper shows that the `successful' uptake of and the active engagement with the concept of boundary object in OMS cannot simply be regarded as a (successful) engagement of STS with OMS. The situated and contingent character of what counts as successful engagement explains the tensions that arise when a concept is taken up in a new field.
This paper investigates the role of models for policy by drawing on and exploring the tensions between the notions of boundary objects and performativity. The notion of boundary object has proven to be useful in gaining a better understanding both of the hybrid character of science-based models and their role in the coordination between different social worlds. However, by assuming that these worlds remain stable, an investigation into the performative nature of models tends to be overlooked. Therefore, this paper investigates how models are constituted by negotiations between scientists and policymakers and at the same time constitute social worlds. It examines two simulation models developed in different Dutch policy contexts: a macroeconomic model for the health care system and an ecological landscape planning and assessment model. The paper shows that models not only actively coordinate social worlds but also contribute to changing them. The performativity of models ranges from generic instrumental) to substantial as they infl uence social worlds to the extent that these worlds start behaving the way models describe.
ArgumentThis article studies the roles three science-based models play in Dutch policy and decision making processes. Key is the interaction between model construction and environment. Their political and scientific environments form contexts that shape the roles of models in policy decision making. Attention is paid to three aspects of the wider context of the models: a) the history of the construction process; b) (changes in) the political and scientific environments; and c) the use in policy processes over longer periods of time. Models are more successfully used when they are constructed in a stable political and scientific environment. Stability and certainty within a scientific field seems to be a key predictor for the usefulness of models for policy making. The economic model is more disputed than the ecology-based model and the model that has its theoretical foundation in physics and chemistry. The roles models play in policy processes are too complex to be considered as straightforward technocratic powers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.