Coordination; Extreme situation; Practices; Extreme Case Studies
Abstract :
[en] This article addresses coordination practices in extreme situations. Whereas past literature has heavily focused on a structural and contingent approach of the phe- nomena, we argue that a practice-based approach of coordination fruitfully enhances our understanding. We draw on an abductive approach and perform a systematic compar- ative analysis of four case studies: the crew of a sailing boat engaged in a race, military air and ground forces in theater, medical staff in a neonatology unit and a polar expedition confronted with polar bears. We outline highly heterogeneous coordination practices along four dimensions (formalization, verticality, openness, and specificity). Our results lead to invalidate both a configurational and a contingent perspective on coordination. We show that despite high heterogeneity, these four attributes represent a useful frame- work for managers to leverage coordination practices produced in situ.
Research Center/Unit :
Laboratoire d'Etudes sur les Nouvelles Technologies de l'Information, la Communication, l'Innovation et le Changement - LENTIC
Disciplines :
General management, entrepreneurship & organizational theory
Author, co-author :
Bouty, Isabelle; Université Paris Ouest Nanterre la Défense > UFR SEGMI
Godé, Cécile; Research Centre of the French Air Force (CReA), Ecole de l 'air
Drucker-Godart, Carole; University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis > GREDEG Laboratory
Lièvre, Pascal; Clermont University and ESC Graduate School of Management > Centre de Recherche Clermontois en Gestion et Management (CRCGM)
Nizet, Jean; University of Namur
Pichault, François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC-Ecole de Gestion de l'ULg : UER > Gestion des ressources humaines
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