Trans-Action: A Processual and Relational Approach to Organizations

A theoretical problem has haunted organization studies for decades: How can we move from the “micro” level of individual sense-making and action to the “macro” level of organizational sense-making and action? The very dichotomy micro–macro refers to a dualist opposition between “individual” and “organizational” which has been criticized as static and irrelevant. This critique has prompted many organization scholars to look for a more relational and dynamic perspective, abandoning the traditional view of organizations as structures and replacing it with a dynamic view of organizations as organizing processes that continuously adapt the relationships between actors, artefacts and situations. But the theoretical frameworks available to study organizations must then be thoroughly revised. This chapter examines the potential contribution of the pragmatist concept of trans-action to a processual and relational approach to organizations. It applies this approach to the analysis of a merger between two large retailers and its concrete impact on ordinary logistic tasks, for example loading and unloading pallets. Controversies do not only lead to new work methods, but also to an emergent and radical redefinition of the situation and of its participating entities, including human actors. Apart from a deep renewal of organizational theory, the trans-actional framework supports research methods based on exploratory inquiries that involve field actors and researchers as co-inquirers.