A Typology of Organizational Behavior : At the Crossroad of Risk and Uncertainty

Abstract

Four modes of organizational behavior are proposed by crossing two behavioral dimensions adopted from organizational ecology (inertia vs. change) and neoinstitutionalism (normative vs. deviant). Those four modes are innovative (deviant change), reformative (normative change), conservative (normative inertia), and reactionary (deviant inertia) modes in the life-cycle of organizational behavior. Also identified are two distributional characteristics underlying each behavioral dimension: low risk vs. high risk underlying inertia vs. change, and certainty vs. uncertainty underlying normative vs. deviant. Through the integration of inertia-conformity and risk-uncertainty dimensions, hypotheses are generated on how transition to the next mode can be either promoted or hindered by sociopolitical resources at the organizational level and by intervention of the state and the civil society at the societal level. The typology and hypotheses outlined in this paper aim to further theoretical articulation and empirical tests on the evolutionary dynamics of organizational forms and institutions in the market.