Seungho Choi

Dynamics of Performing and Remembering Organizational Routines

This study addresses the dynamic interplay between action and memory in organizational routines. We consider three distinct forms of memory – procedural, declarative, and transactive – and examine their roles in the formation, efficiency, and adaptability of organizational routines. We introduce an agent‐based model simulating organizational routines as repeated patterns of sequential tasks accomplished by networks of individuals. We model the formation of new routines, and changes in established organizational routines resulting from loss of personnel (due to downsizing) and changes in environmental demands. We find that transactive memory enhances problem‐solving efficiency and facilitates adaptation to novel problems. Declarative memory built from past experience facilitates efficient routines in stable contexts, but obstructs efficiency gains when the organization encounters novel problems.

The role of transactive memory in the formation of organizational routines

This study addresses how individuals combine their diverse skills during the process of forming organizational routines. Our explanation centers on the development of transactive memory, which forms during the initial performances of a routine, as actors search for (and subsequently remember) other actors with the capabilities needed to complete a routine. We present an agent-based model to analyze how the distribution and availability of individual capabilities influence the set of actors involved in performing routines, initially and over time. The model shows that even when the pattern of actions stays the same, the pattern of actors involved in performing an organizational routine can change continuously. Variations in the efficiency of routine formation that are inexplicable in terms of action sequences may be readily explained when we examine actor sequences. Transactive memory contributes to the theory of organizational routines by serving as a bridge between individuals’ skills and collective capabilities.