Tackling Grand Challenges Pragmatically: Robust Action Revisited

Abstract

In this article, we theorize a novel approach to addressing the world’s grand challenges based on the philosophical tradition of American pragmatism and the sociological concept of robust action. Grounded in prior empirical organizational research, we identify three robust strategies that organizations can employ in tackling issues such as climate change and poverty alleviation: participatory architecture, multivocal inscriptions and distributed experimentation. We demonstrate how these strategies operate, the manner in which they are linked, the outcomes they generate, and why they are applicable for resolving grand challenges. We conclude by discussing our contributions to research on robust action and grand challenges, as well as some implications for research on stakeholder theory, institutional theory and theories of valuation

Adding Complexity to Theories of Paradox, Tensions, and Dualities of Innovation and Change: Introduction to Organization Studies Special Issue on Paradox, Tensions, and Dualities of Innovation and Change

“…Yet while interorganizational collaboration may reduce competition in the short-term, it can also serve to create fiercer rivals in the long-term (Ingram & Yue, 2008). Concurrently, there was an urgency to address complex and deep-rooted challenges -so-called "wicked problems" (Rittel & Webber, 1973) -such as those related to climate change, poverty, alienation, and cybercrime (Ferraro, Etzion, & Gehman, 2015), but also a realization that only limited progress had been made -if anything, the scale of these problems appeared to be becoming greater.…”

Justification, Evaluation and Critique in the Study of Organizations: An Introduction to the Volume

“…Interest in pluralism has come even more to the fore with the current popularity of institutional logics (Greenwood, Raynard, Kodeih, Micelotta, & Lounsbury, 2011;Lounsbury & Boxenbaum, 2013), an approach that has clear connections with the EW framework (Cloutier & Langley, 2013;Friedland, 2009). And finally, American pragmatism is currently being rediscovered by organizational scholars on the basis that if offers insights that can potentially solve some of organizational theory's most important issues (Farjoun, Ansell, & Boin, 2015;Ferraro, Etzion, & Gehman, 2015).…”

Comparative Analysis of Hydraulic Fracturing Wastewater Practices in Unconventional Shale Development: Newspaper Coverage of Stakeholder Concerns and Social License to Operate

“…Uncertainty is another reason why unconventional shale development has been challenging. Given the many complexities involved, even in cases where data exist, operators and regulators have not been able to fully enumerate all possible future states, let alone assign them probabilities [21][22][23].…”

“…For instance, when it comes to trust, it may be important to investigate the relative role of procedural versus distributive justice [94]. Similarly, the findings suggest that conventional understandings of risk management may not be adequate for dealing with unconventional resource challenges such as hydraulic fracturing [23,95]. Organizational values have long been considered essential to organizational legitimacy [96,97], suggesting another fruitful path for consideration.…”