Ravaisson, Simondon, and constitution of routine action: Organizational routines as habit and individuation

ABSTRACT

Organizational routines are increasingly theorized as recursively being constituted as structures that inform and influence human action while simultaneously being built from the bottom-up by individual activities. In such a view, agency is both the cause and effect of organizational routines. The concept of agency is still under-theorized as it is frequently assumed that the actor either benefits from adhering to prescribed scripted action or consciously respond to instructions, that is, agency precedes the actions that constitute routines. Drawing on the work of Félix Ravaisson and Gilbert Simondon, the article advocates a biophilosophical understanding of routine action as being co-constituted with agency in a specific domain wherein the individual agent accommodates information and uncertainty in the form of habit (Ravaisson) or in the process of individuating (Simondon). Recognizing the work of Ravaisson and Simondon thus provides new ways to theorize agency and routines in organizations.

KEYWORDS:

• Organizational routines
• agency
• habit
• Ravaisson
• Simondon

View correction statement:

Notice of duplicate publication: ‘Ravaisson, Simondon, and constitution of routine action: organizational routines as habit and individuation’

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.