TY - JOUR

T1 - NOBODY SAID IT WAS EASY – SYSTEM LEVEL DYNAMICS IN THE EMERGENCE AND NAVIGATION OF MULTI-ACTOR PARADOXES

AU - Seidemann, Iris

AU - Geiger, Daniel

AU - Harborth, Lisa

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023, Academy of Management. All rights reserved.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - In this paper, we bridge the gap between paradox theory and a system level perspective to study how system level dynamics initiate and drive multi actor paradoxes in the response to the grand challenge of climate-induced disasters. We show how multiple actors engage in contradictory yet interrelated practices that fuel paradoxical dynamics and finally create a non-optimal but stable equilibrium that inhibits system change. We explore this process through a longitudinal ethnography study on the implementation of the “Forecast-based-Financing” approach in Uganda; an approach that shall initiate early action in anticipation of disasters. Our findings reveal how stakeholders’ implementation practices drive paradoxical dynamics that constitute self-reinforcing dynamics. Drawing on these insights, we develop a process model that explains how paradoxical dynamics not only hinder the tackling of the grand challenge but stabilize each other, contributing to a path dependent development. We contribute to theory in at least two ways: first, we theorize how addressing grand challenges instigates an interplay of paradoxical dynamics which create non-optimal but stable, path dependent equilibria on a system level which are difficult to change. Second, we introduce a dynamic perspective on paradoxes, thereby moving beyond the perspective of stable paradox poles that can be embraced.

AB - In this paper, we bridge the gap between paradox theory and a system level perspective to study how system level dynamics initiate and drive multi actor paradoxes in the response to the grand challenge of climate-induced disasters. We show how multiple actors engage in contradictory yet interrelated practices that fuel paradoxical dynamics and finally create a non-optimal but stable equilibrium that inhibits system change. We explore this process through a longitudinal ethnography study on the implementation of the “Forecast-based-Financing” approach in Uganda; an approach that shall initiate early action in anticipation of disasters. Our findings reveal how stakeholders’ implementation practices drive paradoxical dynamics that constitute self-reinforcing dynamics. Drawing on these insights, we develop a process model that explains how paradoxical dynamics not only hinder the tackling of the grand challenge but stabilize each other, contributing to a path dependent development. We contribute to theory in at least two ways: first, we theorize how addressing grand challenges instigates an interplay of paradoxical dynamics which create non-optimal but stable, path dependent equilibria on a system level which are difficult to change. Second, we introduce a dynamic perspective on paradoxes, thereby moving beyond the perspective of stable paradox poles that can be embraced.

KW - Management studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85189006685&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.5465/AMPROC.2023.77bp

DO - 10.5465/AMPROC.2023.77bp

M3 - Conference article in journal

AN - SCOPUS:85189006685

VL - 2023

JO - Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings

JF - Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings

SN - 0065-0668

IS - 1

T2 - 83rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, AOM 2023

Y2 - 4 August 2023 through 8 August 2023

ER -