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Organizational routines are considered basic components of organizational behavior and repositories of organizational capabilities (Nelson & Winter, 1982).They do, therefore, hold one of the keys to understanding organizational change.The article focuses on how the concept of organizational routines can be applied in empirical research to understand organizational change. We identify problems encountered in such research and present proposals for how to deal with them, in order to advance our knowledge of routines and our understanding of organizational change. Developing these themes, we also introduce the articles in the special section 'Towards an Operationalization of the Routines Concept'.

Changing routines and creating new routinization processes are difficult tasks involving both cognitive and political mechanisms. In this paper we use Defial-a French meat-processing firm-in order to illustrate some of the problems involved in creating a new procedural memory in a workshop and in applying the concept of a 'routine'. We discuss some methodological implications resulting from our various observations and the choices we made. In our case study, the complexity arose partly from the many different factors that affect the production process, such as stress and the overload syndrome. We show that time and hierarchical pressures cannot alone ensure the success of the memorization of a task. The routinization process is only truly successful when a new state of confidence towards management has been established, a confidence that helps overcome the socioemotional issues arising from the changes that are taking place and that paves the way for the acceptance of change in both declarative and procedural memory.

Lazaric N., Longhi C. and Thomas C. Gatekeepers of knowledge versus platforms of knowledge: from potential to realized absorptive capacity, Regional Studies. The development of clusters rests on geographical proximity, cognitive interactions as well as entrepreneurial initiatives. Sophia Antipolis, a multi-technology cluster in Valbonne, France, is a good illustration of the type of challenges local systems of innovation face in creating positive knowledge externalities. This paper shows that if the existence of 'gatekeepers of knowledge' can generate the potential implementation of 'absorptive capacity', its effective realization requires some additional effort regarding the transfer of knowledge into the cluster. The concept of 'platform of knowledge' defined shows how a project of knowledge codification could generate externalities by creating new opportunities for effectively combining and absorbing knowledge. [image omitted] Lazaric N., Longhi C. et Thomas C. Deux modalites opposees de diffusion des connaissances: les gardiens versus la platforme. Une illustration a travers le cas d'un cluster high tech, Regional Studies. Le developpement des clusters repose sur la proximite geographique, les interactions cognitives et les initiatives des entrepreneurs. Sophia Antipolis, un cluster fonde sur plusieurs technologies, est une bonne illustration des obstacles que les systemes locaux d'innovation doivent franchir pour creer des externalites de connaissance positives. Cet article montre que l'existence de 'relais de connaissance' ('gatekeepers of knowledge') peut engendrer des capacites d'absorption potentielles, mais que leur realisation effective implique des efforts supplementaires relatifs aux transferts de connaissance dans le cluster. Le concept de 'plate forme de connaissance' propose montre comment un projet de codification des connaissances peut generer des externalites en creant des opportunites nouvelles pour combiner et absorber des connaissances. Cluster high tech Connaissance Gatekeeper Plate forme de connaissance Sophia Antipolis Lazaric N., Longhi C. und Thomas C. Zwei gegenubergestellte Verfahren der Wissensubertragung: Die Gatekeepers versus die Plattform. Eine Illustration anhand eines Hightech clusters, Regional Studies. Die Entwicklung der Cluster hangt von der geographische Nahe, kognitiven Interaktionen und Initiativen der Unternehmer ab. Sophia Antipolis, ein Multi -Technologie Cluster, ist eine gute Illustration der Hemmnisse, die die localen Innovationssysteme uberwinden mussen,um positive Externalitaten zu schaffen. Dieser Artikel zeigt, dass die Existenz von 'Wissensrelais' ('gatekeepers of knowledge') potentielle Absorptionsfahigkeiten erzeugen konnen, aber ihre effektive Realisation zusatzliche Anstrengungen bezuglich der Wissenstransferts in dem Cluster erfordern. Das Konzept der vorgeschlagenen 'Wissensplattform' zeigt, wie ein Projekt zur Kodifizierung des Wissens Externalitaten hervorrufen kann, indem neue Gelegenheiten geschafft werden um Wissen zu kombinieren und zu absorbieren....

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