Path Nets: Concurrence and Recurrence in the Dynamics of Organizing

With Brian Pentland, 

Abstract
This article proposes a link between temporal structuring and the dynamics of organizing that is manifest in a fabric of concurrent paths that we call a path net.  Path nets are shaped by mechanisms of temporal structuring, such as entrainment, planning, agency, and chance. Path nets materialize the effects of temporal structuring “here” and “now” in the comings and goings of actors and resources, thereby setting the stage for doings and sayings of situated practice and shaping the dynamics of organizing. Path nets offer a parsimonious system of picturing the complexity of organizing that is built on a processual ontology of paths and events. Through the lens of the path net, we can picture temporal structuring as a motor for organizing that drives recurrence without assuming stability or change. Comings and goings are readily observable, so path nets open new directions for empirical research on temporality and the dynamics of organizing.

Brian T. Pentland is the Main Street Capital Corporation Endowed Professor in the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.  His creative work has appeared in Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Bandcamp, Journal of Management Studies, Management Science, MIS Quarterly, Organization Science, Organization Studies, Organization Theory, Soundcloud, YouTube and elsewhere. His research is focused on the analysis of repetitive patterns of action, such as organizational routines. He has used this perspective to study software support, auditing, invoice processing, customer service and electronic medical record keeping. He received his PhD in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991.