A bureaucrat’s journey from technocrat to entrepreneur through the creation of adhocracies

The Role of Strategic Ambiguity in Moral Injury: A Case Study of Dutch Border Guards Facing Moral Challenges

“…Yet, they also faced ambiguity in terms of their authority, mandate, and tasks. While military personnel is known to prefer straightforward regulations and orders (see Pelly, 2016), Military Police management fostered equivocality in our case (see Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2003; Denis et al, 2011; Ebbers & Wijnberg, 2017). Second, this ambiguity was intentional (i.e., strategic ambiguity), as there were differences of opinion within the Military Police as well as with managers of other relevant organizations (e.g., Frontex), which were pragmatically resolved by leaving operational elements ambiguous and thus allowing for diverse interpretations.…”

“…Second, this ambiguity was intentional (i.e., strategic ambiguity), as there were differences of opinion within the Military Police as well as with managers of other relevant organizations (e.g., Frontex), which were pragmatically resolved by leaving operational elements ambiguous and thus allowing for diverse interpretations. Indeed, while operational activities often deviate from bureaucratic realities (Pelly, 2016), crises are known to be particularly likely to evoke strategic ambiguity (Eisenberg, 1984; Ulmer and Sellnow, 2000), and pluralistic settings with dispersed power may even further induce strategic ambiguity (Denis et al, 1996, 2011). Finally, border protection duties present moral questions as decisions of border security officers have far-reaching effects on the lives of migrants and may therefore elicit difficult value conflicts among implementers.…”

“…To present the effects of strategic ambiguity and the different coping mechanisms, we decided to make use of vignettes, in the form of two accounts (or moral stories) of former BST members (see Whittle & Mueller, 2012). The choice for this approach was motivated by our objective to offer in-depth insight into both the personal experiences of BST members and the way these experiences were shaped by their specific contexts (see Pelly, 2016). Consequently, it seemed preferable to provide “thick descriptions” of several accounts rather than separate, de-contextualized presentations of a number of patterns (see Geertz, 1973; Ponterotto, 2006).…”

What culture is your university? Have universities any right to teach entrepreneurialism?

“…In exploring the concepts of entrepreneurship, Pelly and Duncan (2016) have shown a link between adhocracies and culture, thus demonstrated through their example of altering a shared vision and overcoming organisational barriers the ability for institutes to enact performance change. Similarly, the link between academic institutes' effectiveness and cultures has been substantiated in several studies.…”

Administrative leaders as institutional entrepreneurs in developing countries: A study of the development and institutionalization of performance management in Ghana's public service

“…IEs are also storymakers and storytellers (Cairney, ; Martens, Jennings, & Jennings, ), using narrative (Bartel & Garud, ) or what Perkmann () calls “discursive articulations” and humour to develop, build, and implement change (Garud et al, ; Pelly & Duncan, ). Storymakers are individuals who use cognitive initiatives to conceive of, as well as construct plots using, the values of the organization to enhance members' perception of the organization, whereas storytellers use their skills, ideas, and power to make these members aware of such stories, most often through humour (Schmidt, , ; Vecchio, Justin, & Pearce, ), or as Cairney () says “manipulate or reinforce the cognitive biases of influential policymakers” (201).…”