Lee Watkiss

• Watkiss, L.; Zbaracki, M.; McAlpine, C.; Barg, J., 2021, "Truth, Beauty and Justice in Models of Social Action", Research in the Sociology of Organizations, October 76: 159 - 177.
  Abstract: James G. March rejected relevance as a criterion for social science research, but he was concerned about the social implications of social science models. He argued that a focus on truth alone as a criterion for evaluating models meant that social scientists miss the implications of their models for beauty and justice. Here, we explore all three criteria to see what they bring to the practice of building social science models and how they interact in the models and in the world. We argue that the choices that social scientists make about these three criteria shape what they select to study in the models, what they see in the world, and what they imagine for the world. We also argue that how social scientists approach truth, beauty, and justice has implications for how they understand and engage the world.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355649856_Truth_Beauty_and_Justice_in_Models_of_Social_Action

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20210000076007

• Glynn, M. A.; Watkiss, L., 2020, "Of Organizing and Sensemaking: From Action to Meaning and Back Again in a Half‐Century of Weick’s Theorizing", Journal of Management Studies, October 57(1): 1331 - 1354.
  Abstract: The themes of organizing and sensemaking have reverberated throughout Weick’s remarkable career and constitute one of the hallmarks of his contribution. We review his major works and show how Weick differentially emphasizes organizing and sensemaking over time and, eventually, arrives at a fuller integration of meaning and action. Initially, Weick (1969; 1979) models their relationship as linear, focusing on how organizing functioned as a context for sensemaking, an approach we label Sensemaking in Organizing. Later, however, Weick (1995a; 2005) construes their relationship in more dynamic, interactive, and reciprocal cycles, modelling sensemaking as the process whereby organizing is achieved, an approach we label Sensemaking as Organizing. We explore the evolution and implications of these approaches and discuss their impact on management scholarship. Finally, we draw out potential future research directions at the interface of organizing and sensemaking.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joms.12613

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