Temporary Organizing Theory: A Spectrum for Cross-Fertilization

This podcast synthesizes the core arguments from the essay "Theorizing Temporary Organizing to Foster True Cross Fertilization," authored by Maude Brunet, Catriona Burke, Mohsin Malik, and Jörg Sydow. The central thesis is a call for stronger, more creative theorizing within project studies to achieve a "true cross-fertilization" with related disciplines, particularly organization studies. Currently, the exchange is predominantly a one-way flow, with organization theory enriching project studies.

The authors propose that advancing theory occurs on a spectrum, ranging from top-down approaches that leverage established reference theories to bottom-up approaches that develop "home-grown" theories from empirical phenomena. To illustrate this spectrum, the essay presents two distinct examples:

1. Top-Down Approach: The app ...