Towards a Foundation of Bricolage in Organization and Management Theory

Abstract

This article provides a conceptual underpinning for the study of bricolage in organizations. Based on a review of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s original writing, we propose that bricolage involves an ideal-typical configuration of acting (practice), knowing (epistemology) and an underlying world view (metaphysics) and develop the opposed ideal-types of the bricoleur and the engineer. We then explore and propose to distinguish two forms of collective bricolage—familiar and convention-based—depending on the type of interaction and the nature of the conventions employed. Finally, we highlight the tension between ideal-typical bricolage and general organizational norms and standards, and discuss both the bricoleur’s legitimacy and how a bricolage-based arrangement might be embedded into an organizational context.

Big Data in Organizations and the Role of Human Resource Management

“…A potentially fitting terminology for this is 'the bricolage' by Lévi-Strauss, who describes it as "doing things with whatever is at hand" (Lévi-Strauss 1966: 17). In an organizational context, bricolage is often linked with entrepreneurship, innovation, and organization theory (Duymedjian & Rüling 2010) and tackles resource allocation within an organization or, to paraphrase, the process of "creating something from nothing" (Baker & Nelson 2005: 329). Although the analogy 'from nothing' is unclear within an organization, as some resources will be re-allocated, those resources, in this case often people, will be used in a different context and environment.…”

Policymaking as collective bricolage: the role of the electricity sector in the making of the European carbon market

“…By bricolage, we mean the act of recombining heterogeneous propositions from multiple domains (for example from the cement industry, electricity sector, non-governmental agencies) into an original arrangement (Baker and Nelson 2005;Carstensen 2011;Højgaard Christiansen and Lounsbury 2013;Duymedjian and Rüling 2010). Eurelectric organized collective bricolage sessions with key stakeholders of the climate political arena as a way to engage them in the notion of carbon markets.…”

“…First, building on the literature on bricolage (Duymedjian and Rüling 2010;Lévi-Strauss 1962, 1966, we describe the role of collective bricolage as a key process for reaching consensus. The Greenhouse Gas and Electricity Trading Simulation (GETS) participants felt involved in the design of the market instrument as they had a possibility to add new features to the market's design and reshuffle its existing architecture.…”

Réceptivité et contraintes de l’innovation dans l’administration publique

“…Des modèles hybrides sont créés, des routines sont refaites de façon à desservir de nouveaux objectifs. Enfin, de nouvelles institutions empruntent l'ordre, le sens et la légitimité des anciennes institutions et donnent lieu à des bricolages propres à un processus évolutif (Campbell, 2004;Duymedjian et Rüling, 2010).…”