Paradox Management, 1st ed. 2019
Contradictions and Tensions in Complex Organizations

Paradoxes emerge everywhere in organizational theory and management practice. This book is a theoretically grounded presentation of the strategic and historical context of organizational paradoxes, exploring the paradoxes in organizational management and the available tactics to manage them. Based on 700 academic sources in the paradox literature, it presents paradox management as a nuanced and coherent perspective. In presenting and integrating the vast literature on the subject, it contributes new knowledge on how and why the paradox concept was introduced into management theory, how and why conflicting ideals of management can produce organizational contradictions, and how paradoxes can be managed.

Chapter 1. Introduction: The Quest for Value. 8

Part I. The external context 17

Chapter 2. The strategic context. The mother of paradox. 20

Environmental change: Confusion logics in management 25

Institutional plurality: New rules of the game challenge value creation. 28

Chapter summary: Challenged organizational boundaries produce paradoxes  33

Chapter 3. The historical context. Contradictory ideals of management 35

Authority and autonomy: Reason as much as you like, but obey. 36

The interest paradigm: Organize to combat paradoxes. 38

The design paradigm: Eliminate paradoxes. 40

The needs paradigm: Build relations to guard against paradoxes. 42

The knowledge paradigm: Inspire to overcome paradoxes. 43

The complexity paradigm: Release the organization. 44

Chapter summary: Paradox theory is a corrective and a supplement to traditional organizational theory  45

Part II. The organizational paradoxes. 49

Chapter 4. The foundation. A new perspective on management in complexity. 50

The paradox concept: The birth and expansion of an alluring concept 53

Contradictions: The root system and wingspan of paradoxes. 58

Tensions: Paradoxes are experienced as tensions. 60

Chapter summary: Paradoxes unite theory positions. 63

Chapter 5. The paradox types. Tensions in organizing, performance, belonging, and learning  65

Organizing: Barriers for the post-bureaucratic organization. 66

Performing: When you reach the cross-road, go to the left and to the right 73

Belonging: You, me, us and them... 79

Learning: Tensions of time. 84

Chapter summary: Paradoxes produce devastating and constructive outcomes  88

Part III. The management tactics. 90

Chapter 6. Paradox tactics: Avoid, activate, transcend. 91

Tactical logics: The organizational ability to create value. 94

Avoidance: Avoid paradoxes. 96

Activation: Activate paradoxes. 103

Transcendence: Transcend paradoxes. 111

Turning points: Renew the organizational ability to create value. 114

Chapter summary: A new language on managing complexity. 117

Chapter 7. Value creation: Paradoxes as a holistic perspective on management 119

The building blocks: The platform of paradox management 119

Management practice: Identify and confront organizational paradoxes. 122

Chapter summary: Value creation through tensions. 125

Concluding remarks. Optimism and skepticism in the quest for value. 127

Index.

Jan Heiberg Johansen, MBA, MA, is the Director of Consulting at the City of Copenhagen’s internal consultancy.