Organizing Failure - by Martin Hájek (Hardcover)

About the Book

Drawing on case studies from a variety of organizational environments, this book explores the social processes and experiences of failure in order to argue.

Book Synopsis

In this book, the authors offer a unique perspective on failure, treating it as an intentional and routine result of organizational activity rather than an event to be avoided.
Through case studies in different organizational domains-including start-up entrepreneurship, platform work, and public policy-contributors analyze the social processes and mechanisms through which failure is organizationally produced as a reality for the actors involved. Based on conceptual reflection and empirical research, the authors argue that the organization of failure takes place in the interaction of actors who take on the roles of sponsors, contractors, and evaluators of a particular activity. Sponsoring and evaluation rely on evaluative infrastructures (procedures and narratives) that are often made invisible or opaque to the contractors carrying out the activities and the research reveals the critical role of sponsors' subjective involvement in organizing failure. The book ultimately demonstrates that focusing on the organization of failure rather than its causes can contribute to a deeper understanding of organized activities in contemporary society.

Review Quotes

Understanding how failure is organized, legitimized, and resisted is essential for grasping the dynamics of inequality, competition, and resilience in contemporary life. Edited by Martin Hájek, this volume brings together an international team of scholars to investigate the formal and informal ways in which businesses, NGOs, policy institutions, and platforms construct, negotiate, and live with failure. Drawing on rich case studies-from start-up cultures and digital labor platforms to environmental NGOs, international development projects, and diversity management initiatives-the contributors reveal how failure is shaped by evaluative infrastructures, institutional logics, and interpersonal relationships. This book is essential reading for sociologists, organizational scholars, and policy analysts, as well as for practitioners seeking to understand how failure can be both an obstacle and a resource in contemporary project-based work.
Filippo Barbera, University of Torino and Collegio Carlo Alberto

About the Author

Martin Hájek is associate professor of sociology.