The translational diamond: robust translation of magic concept in public organizations

Abstract

Public organizations are constantly offered new ideas and concepts that involve a substantial investment of resources when it comes to translating them into organizational practice. An especially powerful group of such concepts in the discourse of organizations comprises so-called "magic concepts" that both pose opportunities and challenges for public leaders trying to translate them. Although critical discussion about the value of popular concepts has been intense in existing research, there is still little knowledge about the factors that determine why some magic concepts have a pervasive influence, while others quickly go out of fashion and leave little trace in organizational practice. By combining insights from public leadership theory, implementation theory, institutional theory and organizational psychology, this article outlines four dimensions that are central to the robustness of the organizational translation of magic concepts. The article develops a conceptual model labeled 'The Translational Diamond', which suggests that the robust translation of organizational concepts depends on the level of both strategic and local anchoring, as well as the interplay between reflection and experimentation in the translation process. The Translational Diamond is applied in two embedded case studies, which offer insight into the variance between two organizational departments attempting to translate the same magic concept. The results illustrate how variance in the four dimensions of the translational diamond create different organizational impact.

COVID-19 som kriseinduceret styringslaboratorium

“…Selvom naerhedsreformen netop har åbnet for frisaettelseseksperimenter på kommunale skoler, dagtilbud og aeldreområdet, er det fortsat uklart, hvordan de øvrige kommunale områder samt de offentlige organisationer på det regionale og statslige område skal reformeres. På trods af at der tidligere er gennemført studier af enkelte kommuners reformarbejde (Bentzen, 2019), er der ikke tidligere lavet tvaerkommunale studier af organisatoriske forandringer opstået under kriser. Her tilbyder vores studie et blik på de forandringer i organisation, styring og ledelse, der har fundet sted i kølvandet på krisen, og som måske endda har skabt grundlag for vaerdiskabende velfaerdsinnovationer.…”

Reconciling conflicting predictions about transience and persistence of management concepts in management fashion theory and new institutionalism

“…6. Institutional theory, in fact, focuses on broad diffusion and institutionalization, avoiding such questions as the emergence and decline of practices and ideas (Furnari, 2014; Bentzen, 2019). …”

Applying Translational Research in University-Industry Collaboration through Crab Farming for Socio-Economic Alleviation of Disadvantage Communities

“…However, the research culture for translational research has started to show positive impacts on local and international communities (Rahman, 2016). Capitalizing on the advantages of translational research, public organizations, especially universities, are given a substantial investment in translating the outcomes to impact the organizational practice (Bentzen Tina, 2019). The conversion and implementation of an innovative product and process that improved and support current practices are what translational research is all about (Savory & Fortune, 2015).…”

“…Much like social entrepreneurship, social innovations are needed to confront complex social problems as they feature substantial interdependencies (van Wijk, Zietsma, Dorado, de Bakker, & Martí, 2019) among the variables as seen in this translational research project. Nevertheless, these theories, as advocated by (Bentzen Tina, 2019), where the dimensions provide the robustness of the translational diamond as the success of the collaborative projects depend on the level of strategic and local anchoring. The methodological activities for this project is chronologically addressed from the innovation process, the reporting of initial success and, marketing attempts.…”