Mary J. Benner talks with
ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about
this month's Emerging Research Front in the field of
Economics & Business.
Article Title: Exploitation, exploration, and
process management: The productivity dilemma
revisited
Authors:
Benner,
MJ;Tushman, ML
Journal: ACAD MANAGE REV, 28 (2): 238-256 APR 2003
Addresses:
Univ Penn, Wharton Sch, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA.
Univ Penn, Wharton Sch, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA.
Harvard Univ, Sch Business, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.
(addresses may have been truncated)
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
Process management (the general term for approaches that help organizations
focus on more tightly routinizing their operating processes) has had an
apple pie quality among managers and scholars in management. How could
careful attention to improving the operating processes in firms and the
possible resulting cost savings be anything but good? Scholars in
management tended to turn either an approving or a blind eye to process
management. Yet, our main common body of research in the field of
organization theory provides a clear lens on the possible effects of
process management.
Organization theory is concerned with factors that help or impede
organizational adaptation. It’s a straightforward implication of much
organizational theory that adherence to routines and processes in
organizations could impede adaptation to changing environments. One of the
work’s main contributions is to get people to view process management
techniques through the lens of organizational theory. I think the work is
having an impact because people agree that, yes; organizational theory
gives us an important way to think about these practices and, moreover,
leads to compelling predictions about when these practices would be helpful
and when not.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or
synthesis of knowledge?
"Organization theory is concerned
with factors that help or impede organizational
adaptation."
My work provides a new way of thinking about a well-known phenomenon.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper
in layman’s terms?
For years, management consultants and many academics have told companies
that they should "document what they do and do what they document." That
is, they should pay close attention to tightly routinizing their processes
to reduce costs and improve quality. While it is plausible and likely true
that process management helps improve quality and reduce costs, these
approaches are most useful for companies in stable environments.
Process management practices dampen innovation and prevent changes in how
an organization operates. If the environment is changing—for example,
if the company’s existing technology is headed for obsolescence
because of the introduction of new technologies—then inwardly focused
attention to process and its associated effects on innovation and change
can impede an organization’s ability to respond to changes in their
working environment.
How did you become involved in this research and
were any particular problems encountered along the way?
I had experience with process management approaches as a manager, prior to
returning to school for a Ph.D. in management. That made me intrigued with
the phenomenon and led me to view these activities and their effects
through the lens of scholarly research in organization theory. The main
obstacle has been getting people to be willing to question assumptions
about the universal and unambiguous benefits of process management. I
encountered a lot of resistance when I first presented the work several
years ago. Now I hear that less and the ideas in the paper seem to be
generally accepted.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
In my research I continue to try to understand factors that make it hard
for organizations to change in the face of major changes in their
environments (e.g. new technologies). Recently my work has focused on the
role of financial institutions—public equity markets and securities
analysts—and how they affect adaptation by existing firms. The new
work is united with the old in its focus on how institutions (financial
markets, process management practices promoted by consultants) can
constrain managers and possibly inhibit organizational change and
adaptation.
Do you foresee any social or political
implications for your research?
As a management professor—and as a former manager—I think
it’s vital to understand how existing organizations can adapt to
change. I hope that my work can help us to understand factors that impede
organizational response so that managers and other leaders of organizations
can effectively manage these obstacles.
Mary Benner
Management Department
The Wharton School
Philadelphia, PA, USA