And here is the script that I more or less stumbled through. So, what is absorptive capacity? According to the seminal 1990 article by Cohen and Levinthal it's "a firm's ability to recognize the value of new information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends" Extending this, Zahra and George (2002) say it is... Continue Reading →
Failing to meet the Challenge(r) – “Organisational decay”
For reasons we don't particularly need to go into, failure fascinates me. Especially that of individuals and organisations that think they are 'all that.' When life is less "horrible (#firstworldproblems) I want to write about the differences between the 1977 Tenerife disaster and United Airlines 232 in 1989. But for now, this article I read while walking... Continue Reading →
Barriers to learning – good article
Just read this - Elliot, D., Smith. D. and McGuinness, M. 2000. Exploring the failure to learn: crises and the barriers to learning. Review of Business, 21, 3/4 pp.17-24. Dead useful for something I am investigating at the moment. There are lots of juicy bits. Though the authors don't use the term, they are basically... Continue Reading →
Dangerous(ly seductive) curves ahead – of life cycles and hype
or "smacking your (rule of) thumb with the hammer marked 'brain'". Narratives are great. They help you arrange (or even create) facts that fit in a nice orderly view of the world. If there is a graph to go along with the narrative, they're even more comforting. I mean, it's science, right? Sadly, no. So,... Continue Reading →
The Smugosphere – an academic citation
So, I have been writing cynically about the "smugosphere" - that place where normal rules of performance assessment to not apply because people are Doing Good For The Cause. And I just kind of stumbled on a very very interesting paper by one Wolfgang Seibel; Seibel, W. 1996. Successful Failure: An Alternative View on Organizational... Continue Reading →
Adventures in policy concepts…
Public policy for fun and ... profit? I've been on a major reading binge over the last month or so (Policy Studies Journal, I'm looking at you). Most of that has been around three theories/frameworks/models - Advocacy Coalitions Framework, Punctuated Equilibrium and Multiple Streams. Why? To try to test/extend the Dialectical Issue LifeCycle Model, especially... Continue Reading →
Hookworm and the class struggle…
Wow. It's almost as if there is a long-running class war where the rich try to demoralise and demean the poor, kick them in the teeth and then blame them for not having a nice smile. I know, I know, crazy conspiracy theory... "Bringing a condition under human control often poses a challenge to old... Continue Reading →
Psycho-analysing the species – on the 20th Century & pre-tits-up 21st…
Hmmm, I am dubious about the value of trying to psycho-analyze societies. And when I say "we" and "the species" I am v. conscious of mostly meaning white middle-class male Westerners. But still, maybe this will provoke someone into sending me some very good reading suggestions. ATT (After the Thesis) I am going to read... Continue Reading →
“The responsibility of intellectuals” Or “After I get shot in the head”
Some guy, I forget who, said that it was the responsibility of intellectuals to expose lies and tell the truth. Meh, as far as it goes, sure. Which truths to who gets more interesting…. If I get shot in the head (and given my deteriorating relationship with Manchester City Council, this is not impossible), and... Continue Reading →
Here comes the “2050” bullshit. Be happy for it. #climate
The future is here, and we are avoiding it. 2020 used to be the target year, by which we had done x and y and z. Sadly, we didn't do those things. A mix of complacency, distraction, stupidity and incompetence mostly explains that. So it goes. But this presents the happy shiny people (HSP) who... Continue Reading →
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