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Combining the insights of organizational theory with the traditional concerns of social theory, Göran Ahrne makes an original and creative contribution to both fields by sketching his organizational theory of society. Using a broad definition of organizations--including not only business enterprises but also nation states, families, and volunteer associations--he shows that what goes on inside, outside, and between organizations is central to understanding social relations. Organizations provide people with resources and motives and they set the stage for human action. Although organizations do not themselves form societies or systems, society is shaped and changed by the interaction between them. Social Organizations illustrates the potential of Ahrne's theory to illuminate current areas of sociological interest including agency and structure, and the processes of globalization. Drawing from such facets of organizational theory as contingency, institutional, ecological, and economic, the author demonstrates how a synthesis with social theory clarifies the nature and effects of organizational interactions. Accessible and thought-provoking, this book will be essential reading for all those interested in social theory, organizational theory, and the sociology of organizations. "Goran Ahrne has written a delightful book, building on the premise that human actions are transformed into social processes through organized interaction. From that simple statement, Ahrne weaves a compelling argument, challenging us to look at organizations again, as if we had never seen them before. I mean this literally--his first question brought me up short: 'Why do you go home?' Why indeed? Ahrne's book is filled with such startling questions, and his penetrating insights reminded me of a great deal of Erving Goffman's work. He asks us to take nothing for granted and to question self-evident practices. Because Ahrne takes a very inclusive view of organizations, this book should appeal to nearly all the social science fields concerned with organized action, including public administration, organization studies, the sociology of the family, economic sociology, and social psychology." --Howard Aldrich, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
