CALL FOR PAPERS
Group & Organization Management
Special Issue on Managing and Coping with Organizational Failure
Due Date: September 30, 2009.
Guest Editors: Kamel Mellahi and Adrian Wilkinson
This special issue is dedicated to organizational failure. The aim of this special issue is to first, develop an understanding of the antecedents and consequences of organizational failure, and second, explore coping mechanisms as a result of failure. We seek papers that identify and measure organizational, group and individual level factors.
Suggested topics might include the following:
· What are the antecedents of organizational failure? What are the internal and external causes of failure? How do organizations confront and prepare for potential failure?
· How do top management teams react to failure when it occurs? How can an organization’s culture facilitate or impede management ability to transform the organization into something new? What role does power and politics play in this process?
· When and under what conditions can organizational failure be a source of organizational renewal?
· Why, and under what circumstances, do managers engage in distraction, denial and rationalization of early warning signals of failure? How do managers react when failure is inevitable?
· Under what circumstances do managers take responsibility for failure? Does early acceptance of failure help organizations recover?
· What are the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to cope with negative psychological consequences?
· How much do managers learn from failure? How do managers rebuild their careers after failure?
· Are there gender related differences in managing and coping with organizational failure? Are there national culture related differences in managing and coping with organizational failure?
· What are the long term social and psychological effects of failure and how do they manifest? In the long term, how do managers buffer themselves from the fear of failure?
The above list is illustrative rather than exhaustive. Although our focus in this special issue is primarily on the organizational, individual and group levels of analysis, given that organizational failure cuts across a range of disciplines, imaginative and thought-provoking manuscripts that span different academic disciplines, including sociology, political science, strategic management, law and psychology are also welcomed.
The special issue is open and competitive. Submitted papers will undergo the normal rigorous, double-blind review process to ensure relevance and quality. The guest editors of the special issue are very happy to discuss initial ideas for papers, and can be contacted directly. The special issue will contain no more than 4-5 full-length papers.
All submissions should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) format. All papers should be submitted on-line with SageTrack (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/gom) and also send a copy of the paper to one of the guest editors: Kamel Mellahi () or Adrian Wilkinson (). Manuscripts should conform to guidelines for the preparation of manuscripts see:
http://www.sagepub.com/journalsProdManSub.nav?prodId=Journal200823
The due date for submissions is September 30 2009.