John Damm Scheuer

This book builds on research in translation studies of change in organizations and demonstrates the implications and application of these findings for managing innovation and change. When implementing ideas into practice in order to carry out innovative change, translation is key. From strategic and leadership changes to policy and health management decisions, abstract ideas such as ‘LEAN’, ‘CSR’, ‘Sustainability’, ‘Public-Private Partnerships’, ‘Clinical Pathways’ and ‘AI’ are introduced to improve organizational processes. However, in any company and organization, miscommunication and misinterpretation can lead to these ideas being modified, added to and appropriated in ways that make them unsuccessful. This book presents a case for change ideas in organizations being translated rather than “implemented” and offers a profound understanding of the translation processes needed in order for this to succeed. This vital study is a must-read for researchers, students and practitioners including change agents, general and health care managers, public servants as well as strategic managers and policy decision-makers.

Theories and Models of Translation in Organizations

How Ideas Move

Steen Scheuer

Globalization, the new economy, and the IT revolution are some of the words used when researchers - as well as practitioners - try to explain the seemingly ever-increasing speed of change in contemporary society. Whatever the label, organizations today are facing change in a host of different ways. Sometimes they act as "change-takers," forced to adapt to changes and innovations coming from the outside. At other times they are "change-makers," who foster innovation and change, giving them a competitive advantage or a heightened legitimacy. Sometimes they force others to adapt to these changes. The analyses presented in this volume provide ample evidence of how the perspective of new institutionalism can help in understanding the anatomy of change, and how some actors avoid complete stasis through utilizing small openings instead of breaking down the whole wall.

A Neo-institutionalist Perspective

The Anatomy of Change

Jørgen Ole Bærenholdt

Jesper Simonsen

Monika Büscher

Design Research is a new interdisciplinary research area with a social science orientation at its heart, and this book explores how scientific knowledge can be put into practice in ways that are at once ethical, creative, helpful, and extraordinary in their results. In order to clarify the common aspects – in terms of features and approaches – that characterize all strands of research disciplines addressing design, Design Research undertakes an in-depth exploration of the social processes involved in doing design, as well as analyses of the contexts for design use. The book further elicits ‘synergies from interdisciplinary perspectives’ by discussing and elaborating on differing academic perspectives, theoretical backgrounds, and design concept definitions, and evaluating their unique contribution to a general core of design research. This book is an exciting contribution to this little explored field, and offers a truly interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of design and the design process. It is valuable reading for students in disciplines such as design studies and theory, participatory design, informatics, arts based education, planning, sociology, and interdisciplinary programmes in humanities and technology.

John Damm Scheuer

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