Abstract:
The principal issue of interest underpinning this study is captured in the assertion of
Heifetz et al. (2009) who stated that the most common cause of organizational failure is a
consequence of treating complex problems (adaptive challenges in their words) as
reducible, technical problems. The overall study has explored how and under what
contextual conditions leaders' framing of complex problems influences organizational
responses over time. The study is important since, despite the burgeoning body of literature
on leadership, very little empirical research is available to deepen understanding and
potentially explain how an organization actually achieves an adaptive response to a
complex problem. This research project is designed around three core papers; a systematic
literature review and two qualitative empirical research studies. The studies employ
complementary interview techniques to elicit how individual leaders think about
addressing complex problems within an organizational context and their perceived
effectiveness of organizational response. Study 1 used the Repertory Grid technique
(Kelly, 1955) to deepen understanding of leaders' personal constructs and study 2 used
semi-structured interviews to reveal rich descriptions of the specific contextual conditions
influencing leaders' framing processes. A total of 38 and 42 interviews were completed in
studies 1 and 2 respectively, with experienced leaders from three hierarchical cohorts in
the British Army (junior, middle and senior leaders). The empirical findings are relevant
to future research in the problems, leadership, institutional theory and framing literature
domains. Methodological contributions are also made in the application of a critical realist
perspective to epistemologically diverse literatures, to deepen understanding of the
structural forces influencing leaders' framing of complex problems in an organizational
setting. Finally, several practical recommendations relevant to management practice are
offered.
