A figure is worth a thousand words: The role of visualization in paradox theorizing

Visualization (i.e., the use of figures and images to represent findings and conceptual models) is central to theorizing. Yet, by focusing solely on the textual content of papers, analysis has inadvertently marginalized the graphic representations of key ideas. We review the paradox literature not just in terms of what authors have written but also how they have visualized models concisely. An analysis of figures in paradox articles captures the essential role that visuals play in our understanding of competing tensions, leveraging the power of imagery. We explore paradox visually, searching for the figurative materialization of paradox; more particularly, we seek visual signs that render abstract ideas more saliently and concretely. We contribute to paradox theory in three ways. First, we show how visuals constitute the lynchpin between convergent and divergent forces, allowing scholars to simultaneously reinforce and challenge current understanding. Second, we offer a tool for scholars to theorize competing demands based on three key antinomies, or dualities, that define the terrain of research in our field. Third, we reveal the performative effect of figures by identifying the ongoing dominance of certain classes of paradox visuals, which allows us to point to uncharted territories for paradox research.

From Vicious to Virtuous Paradox Dynamics: The Social-symbolic Work of Supporting Actors

The dynamics of paradox can be vicious and virtuous. Facing competing yet interrelated demands, organizational actors may find themselves paralyzed by tensions, embroiled in a vicious cycle, or energized by and thriving amid the friction in a virtuous cycle. While studies offer insights into each type, little is known about how actors move from one to the other. Through an action research study at a multinational company, we investigate shifting paradox dynamics. Our model depicts how organizational actors transition from vicious to virtuous cycle, moving through a cycle break and a cycle reversal. Our collaborative methodology sheds light on how supporting actors can shape the social and symbolic dimensions influencing focal actors’ capacity to shift their patterned responses to paradoxical tensions. Supporting actors, positioned as insiders to the organization but outsiders to the paradox, enable this shift by breaking dysfunctional dynamics, facilitating new responses, and embedding virtuous dynamics in the organization.

Strategies of Integration in Mixed Methods Research

The challenge of integration, namely, the bridging across different intellectual paradigms to combine empirical insights into a coherent and plausible explanation, is endemic to mixed methods research. In this article, we address this challenge in two ways: first, by drawing attention to the role that theoretical integration plays in mixed methods research as a complement to empirical integration and second, by broadening the repertoire of strategies for enhancing the interplay of theoretical and empirical elements in a mixed methods study. We use the technique of relational algorithms, a linguistic exercise designed to produce “novel relations between pairs of things” by experimenting with different words that can connect theory and empirics. We propose that connector words (e.g., along, near, within) can forge linkages between quantitative and qualitative methods that extend the simple coupling implied by and. We advance five strategies of integration, two that are commonly used in management research—conjoined and sequential—and three high-potential but relatively underused strategies—simultaneous, full-cycle, and mono-logic. We illustrate each of these with examples from the management and organizational literature.