Routine dynamics: Beyond routines as things

Abstract

Routines are fundamental to organizational operations and strategy. Organizational members enact routines to design and manufacture products, develop strategic plans, hire/fire personnel, create budgets and account for the money, time, and other resources spent, and perform myriad other tasks, both profound and mundane. While the term routine may conjure up an image of stability and inertia, recent research shows that enacted routines are a potential source of continuous change. The field of routine dynamics explores the relationality of stability and change in organizational routines and how the process of enacting or performing routines is a source of both organizational stability and organizational change. While much of the work in routine dynamics is found in journal articles, the following books provide opportunities for rich empirical examples and extended discussions.