The role of transition in temporary organizations: linking the temporary to the permanent

Abstract

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:333301 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This research note puts the role of transition back in the center of the temporary organization and lends to understanding the temporary organization as a transitory unit within the permanent organization. The purpose is to reactivate theory development within this field of research and promote a dialog that will point to a possible way forward. Design/methodology/approach -An intra-organizational perspective is taken. Backgrounds of the two theories are covered and then the temporary organization as a transitory unit, and the role of transition are addressed. One basic transformation is made in the theory of the temporary organization and then the model superposed on the behavioral theory of the firm. Findings -In total, four things were achieved. First, the conceptualization of temporary organization was simplified -five variables have been reduced to four in eliminating "action" as an element of description. Second, the conceptualization was extended to include constructs of the permanent organization. Third, the theory was strengthened by providing an extended framework that potentially could be examined to check observations against theory. Finally, some directions were suggested for future theory development to take.Research limitations/implications -The research note is conceptual, so applicability depends upon the nature of the particular organization to which it is applied. Originality/value -Although the paper is conceptual, the authors believe that the approach can be used to understand the interrelatedness of the temporary and permanent organization and to promote a dialog within this field of research -a dialog that hopefully will reactivate theory development.

Projects as a policy tool: a policy ethnographic investigation in the field of education in Sweden

“…When these results are related to the knowledge gap that Bakker (2010), just as Jacobson, Burström and Wilson (2013), identifies in previous research, it is possible to see how the management of the organisation at the Mountain School was more focused on certain tasks and goals rather than on the social relationships. The responsibility for both social relations and the projects was instead delegated to the teams without support from the headmasters.…”

“…This extensive project engagement has made them tired and strongly contributes to their inability to orchestrate their ideas and visions into concrete action. Thus the results indicate that working in projects tends to create pressure and the need to focus on controlling goals, rather than to accomplish policy change (see Crawford, 2014;Jacobsson et al, 2013).…”

“…In reviews of previous research on projects and temporary organisation, Bakker (2010) and Jacobsson, Burström, and Wilson (2013) claim that research has largely focused on concepts of task and team, and they also identify a number of knowledge gaps. For example, they identify a knowledge gap concerning whether the management of the organisation focused on the task or social relationships.…”

Transforming temporary organizations to permanence: Examining the role of information systems

“…Although scholars like Jacobsson et al [17] have extended the theory of temporary organizations [21] by putting the transition at the centre of the temporary organization to explore the relationship between temporary and permanent organizations from an intra-organizational perspective but the agency of information-mediated environments in affecting project outcomes is not adequately established. Using this case, we examine the dynamic roles of IS as a core concept in affecting the transformation of a temporary organization to permanence.…”

“…Temporary organizations have also been conceptualized as transitory units in permanent organizations [17]. In this view, they are treated as time-limited projects [29] executed by members of the permanent organization who are assembled around a particular task and this association terminates with the fulfillment of the project objectives.…”