Seeing the Forest and the Trees: How a Systems Perspective Informs Paradox Research

• Published date: 01 December 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12398
• Date: 01 December 2018

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and S ociety for the Advancement of Ma nagement Studies

Seeing the Forest and the Trees: How a Systems

Perspective Informs Paradox Research

Jonathan Schada,b and Pratima Bansalc

aCass Business School, City, Universit y of London; bGeneva School of Economics and

Management, University of Geneva; cIvey Bu siness School, Western University.

ABST RACT Paradox theory ha s fundamentally changed how researchers think ab out

organizat ional tensions by emphasizing t heir oppositions and their i nterdependencies.

Yet, most paradox studies focus on salient, perceived tensions, ig noring latent, nested

tensions and their complex interconnections. This par tial view is rooted in the paradox

literature focusing on t he epistemological realm (actors’ perception of tensions) while

disregardi ng the ontological realm (tensions’ underlying reality). The focus on the

epistemological aspect s of the tensions impedes researchers f rom moving to more

intricate insights into pa radox, which could help address the realities of complex issues ,

such as wicked problems. We propose a systems perspe ctive on paradox that di scrimi-

nates the epistemological underst andings from the ontological realities of tensions. By

revealing the ontology of tensions, t he underlying complexity becomes empirica lly

interpretable. We illustrate the power of th is perspective by offering two research

strategies that can help researchers and organi zations apprehend paradoxes grounded

in systems.

Keywo rds: complexity, paradox, scale, sust ainability, systems, wicked problems

INTRODUCTION

Today’s complex business environments generate conflicting goals and compet-

ing demands for managers and organizations, which in turn drive researchers’

attention to paradox theory (Smith and Lewis, 2011). Whereas management

scholars have historically taken a trade-off (either/or) approach to such tensions,

paradox research proposes an integrative (both/and) perspective (Lewis, 200 0;

Poole and Van de Ven, 1989). Driven by the goal of identifying opposing elements’

Address for reprints: Jonathan Schad , Cass Business School, Cit y, University of London, 106 Bunh ill

Row, London, EC1Y 8TZ, UK ( jonathan.schad@city.ac.uk).

Journal of Management Studies 55:8 De cember 2018

doi : 10.1111/jom s.123 98

How a Systems Perspective Informs Paradox Research 1491

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and S ociety for the Advancement of Ma nagement Studies

underlying interdependencies (Farjoun, 2010), perceived tensions are the start-

ing point for most paradox studies.

Nevertheless, the focus on salient, perceived tensions provides only a partial

view – a view that simplifies organizational realities because it masks the under-

lying complexity of nested, latent tensions (Schad et al., 2016). The epistemo-

logical realm of tensions (i.e., actors’ perception of tensions) differs from their

ontological realm (i.e., tensions’ underlying reality). Most paradox studies focus

on the epistemological, which is understandable, given that researchers tend to

study salient tensions as they emerge in empirical contexts. Yet, this focus on the

epistemological impedes researchers from exploring the complex ontological re-

alities that shape organizational actors’ perception of tensions.

In this Point, we explore the connection between the ontology and epistemol-

ogy of tensions in the context of wicked problems. Organizations increasingly

face business issues with larger societal implications (George et al., 2016) that

cause wicked problems, which are system problems characterized by complex dy-

namics exposing multiple tensions across levels of analysis (Reinecke and Ansari,

2016). Such problems include climate change, digitalization, economic crises,

and poverty. While scholars recommend that paradox theory be applied to ad-

dress wicked problems (Smith and Tracey, 2016; Smith et al., 2017), the epistemo-

logical focus on perceived tensions overlooks the complex, ontological realities

that cause them. For example, even if actors deny climate change and, therefore,

do not perceive any tension, it does not mean that the climate is not changing.

Further, even if actors acknowledge climate change and experience tensions,

dealing with the tensions does not necessarily address the underlying reality of

climate change. Consequently, the source of tensions, whether they are perceived

or not, still matters.

We suggest that a systems perspective is helpful in this respect because actors

are more likely to perceive tensions in complex systems, but these systems also

harbour latent tensions that actors do not perceive. Our Point is that, by recog-

nizing current paradox research’s epistemological bias, we can reveal the onto-

logical domain, thereby exploring the complex systems that generate tensions.

Organizational actors may become aware of tensions through systems dynamics

(Stacey et al., 2000), although changes in the underlying relationships are not

always visible. By applying a systems lens to tensions, we provide an understanding

of the complex interconnections at the heart of these tensions (Simon, 1996) and

the dominant processes that shape a system (Plowman et al., 2007).

We offer two strategies to apprehend tensions’ ontological features: ‘zooming

out’ to see new relationships, and ‘zooming in’ to uncover the dominant ten-

sions. These research approaches can help organizations anticipate unintended

consequences when dealing with paradoxes embedded in systems, because by

acknowledging the complexity of the systems that harbour these tensions, latent

tensions become salient. Our insights also respond to recent calls for research to

theorize unprecedented complexity (Dick et al., 2017).