Organizational Improvisation: A Consolidating Review and Framework

Abstract

Organizational improvisation is increasingly recognized as a relevant area of management research. However, the cumulativeness of research on improvisation in organizations remains low. This paper organizes existing contributions on organizational improvisation within a new consolidating framework combining degrees (minor, bounded and structural) and levels (individual, interpersonal and organizational) of improvisation. The proposed degree/level framework allows for reviewing the existing literature on organizational improvisation in the management disciplines of strategy, organizational behaviour, organizational theory, innovation and marketing in a systematic manner. It also exposes potential areas for future research across management disciplines, research areas, organizational settings and industries, and beyond existing metaphors, most notably of jazz and improvisational theatre.

Strategy development: Driving improvisation in Malaysia

“…With higher levels of uncertainties than their peers in developed economies and greater frequency of 2014), to the best of our knowledge, we are the first to examine key managerial (tenure, expertise) and organizational (risk-taking, flexibility, learning) characteristics collectively as antecedents of improvisation. Second, environmental disruptions are suggested to compel organizations to improvise (Hadida & Tarvainen, 2014). To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to examine the influence of high and low levels of competitive turbulence simultaneously on the drivers of improvisation, thus extending theory beyond a bias to study high-velocity markets (Kyriakopoulos, 2011).…”

Leveraging Big Data Analytics to Improve Quality of Care In Health Care: A fsQCA Approach

“…Research from both strategic and organizational management fields has emphasized the importance of organizational improvisation to handle extreme competition, cope with changing circumstances, and pursue potential business opportunities (e.g. [49], [50]). Improvisational capability plays a crucial role in building organizational agility to react to market changes.…”

Making Sense of Adaptations: Resilience in High-Risk Work

“…For reviews see Cunha (1999) and Hadida and Tarvainen (2015). Existing literature on organisational improvisation puts emphasis on using metaphors in arts, such as jazz, Indian music and theatrical improvisation (Kamoche, 2003;Vera & Crossan, 2004).…”

“…Existing literature on organisational improvisation puts emphasis on using metaphors in arts, such as jazz, Indian music and theatrical improvisation (Kamoche, 2003;Vera & Crossan, 2004). Hadida (2015) argued that the use of metaphors is a means to form meaning from complex local circumstances that would otherwise be difficult to compare. For example, jazz improvisation starts from a structure, framing but not caging the process, or as described by Crossan (1998), there are rules for how to innovate and "break the rules".…”

“…Definitions of improvisation vary, but converge on two common traits; temporal convergence; that is, structuring and planning of an action takes place as it is being executed (Chelariu, 2002;Moorman & Miner, 1998) and a deviation from existing practices or knowledge (Trotter et al, 2016). Improvisation differs from bricolage in that it occurs in the time frame of seconds-to minutes, while bricolage is about making do with what is available, over long or short time (Hadida & Tarvainen, 2015). Improvisation includes a range of varying behaviours, from small deviations in intended course of action to spontaneous action based mainly on intuition (Crossan, 1998).…”