Assumptions Rational and Not: Reflections on Battilana’s and Walsh’s Chapters

Assumptions Rational and Not: Reflections on Battilana’s and Walsh’s Chapters

Description

Attempts to understand the behavior of organizations in terms of the interactions of individual agents may not always provide much help in predicting what an organization will actually do. Critiques of the rational actor model include its neglect of cognitive limitations and the complexity of human motives. There are people whose behavior is causally central to the outcomes for organizations, including large ones, and their behavior is worth studying precisely for that reason. The chapter author sees value in theoretical pluralism and more attention to practical considerations in understanding organizational behavior. The chapter urges a balance between individual agency and structural influences.

First Page

226

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1093/9780198944249.003.0030

Source Publication

Core Assumptions in Business Theory: A Wedge Between Performance and Progress

Source Editors/Authors

Subramanian Rangan

Publication Date

4-7-2025

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Assumptions Rational and Not: Reflections on Battilana’s and Walsh’s Chapters

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