Academic research on Improv

Katherine Lawrence has prepared this extensive list of academic research and other publications related to Improvisation in Organisations.

Agle, B. M., R. K. Mitchell; J. A. Sonnenfeld. 1999. Who matters to CEOs? An investigation of stakeholder attributes and salience, corporate performance, and CEO values. Academy of Management Journal, 42(5): 507-525.

Alexander, R. 1983. Improvisational theatre for the classroom: A curriculum guide for training regular and special education teachers in the art of improvisational theatre. Washington, DC: The Living Stage Theatre Company.

Aram, J. D., & Walochik, K. 1996. Improvisation and the Spanish manager. International Studies of Management and Organization, 26(4): 73-89.

Barker, C. 1977. Theatre games: A new approach to drama training. London: Methuen.

Barki, H. & Pinsonneault, A. 2001. Small Group Brainstorming and idea quality: Is electronic brainstorming the most effective approach? Small Group Research, 32(2): 158-205.

Barrett, F. J., & Peplowski, K. 1998. Minimal structures within a song: An analysis of "All of Me". Organization Science, 9(5): 558-560.

Barrett, F. J. 1998. Creativity and improvisation in jazz and organizations: Implications for organizational learning. Organization Science, 9(5): 605-622.

Barrett, F. J. 2000. Cultivating an aesthetic of unfolding: Jazz improvisation as a self-organizing system. In S. L. a. H. J. Hopfl (Ed.), The aesthetics of organizations. London: Sage.

Bastien, D. T., & Hostager, T. J. 1988. Jazz as a process of organizational innovation. Communication Research, 15(5): 582-602.

Bastien, D. T., & Hostager, T. J. 1992. Cooperation as comunicative accomplishment: A symbolic interaction analysis of an improvised jazz concert. Communication Studies, 43(Summer): 92-104.

Berliner, P. F. 1994. Thinking in jazz: The infinite art of improvisation. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Berman, H. 1991. Taking your cues from comedy. Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, 20(2): 117-119.

Blatner, A., & Blatner, A. 1988. The art of play. New York: Human Sciences Press.

Boal, A. 1992. Games for actors and non-actors. London: Routledge.

Brown, J. S., & Duguid, P. 1996. Organizational learning and communities-of-practice: Toward a unified view of working, learning, and innovation. In M. D. Cohen, & L. S. Sproull (Eds.), Organizational learning: 58-82. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Brown, S. L., & Eisenhardt, K. M. 1997. The art of continuous change: Linking complexity theory and time-paced evolution in relentlessly shifting organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42: 1-34.

Brown, S. L., & Eisenhardt, K. M. 1998. Competing on the edge: Strategy as structured chaos. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Chelariu, C., Johnston, W. J., & Young, L. 2002. Learning to improvise, improvising to learn: A process of responding to complex environments. Journal of Business Research, 55: 141-147.

Cohen, M. D., & March, J. G. 1974. Leadership and Ambiguity. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Crossan, M. M., White, R. E., Lane, H. W., & Klus, L. 1996. The improvising organization: Where planning meets opportunity. Organizational Dynamics, 24(4): 20-35.

Crossan, M. M., & Sorrenti, M. 1997. Making sense of improvisation. Advances in Strategic Management, 14: 155-180.

Crossan, M. 1997. Improvise to innovate. Ivey Business Quarterly (Autumn): 36-42.

Crossan, M. M. 1998. Improvisation in action. Organization Science, 9(5): 593-599.

Cunha, M. P., Cunha, J. V., & Kamoche, K. 1999. Organizational improvisation: What, when, how and why. International Journal of Management Reviews, 1(3): 299-341.

Cunha, M. P., Cunha, J. V., & Kamoche, K. 1999. Shopping for new glasses: Looking beyond jazz in the study of organizational improvisation. Unpublished Working Paper, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.

Cunha, M. P., Cunha, J. V., & Kamoche, K. 2002. Organizational improvisation: What, when, how and why. In K. Kamoche, M. P. Cunha, & J. V. Cunha (Eds.), Organizational improvisation: 96-137. London: Routledge.

Cunha, J. V., Kamoche, K. N., & Cunha, M. P. 2002. Once again: What, when, how and why. In K. Kamoche, M. P. Cunha, & J. V. Cunha (Eds.), Organizational improvisation: 296-308. London: Routledge.

Dyba, T. 2000. Improvisation in small software organizations. IEEE Software. September/October: 83-87.

Eisenberg, E. M. 1990. Jamming: Transcendence through organizing. Communication Research, 17(2): 139-164.

Eisenhardt, K. M. 1997. Strategic decisions and all that jazz. Business Strategy Review, 8(3): 1-3.

Frost , A. & Yarrow, A. 1989. Improvisation in drama. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Gersick, C. J. G., & Hackman, J. R. 1990. Habitual routines in task-performing groups. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 47: 65-97.

Gessel, I. 1997. Playing along: 37 group learning activities borrowed from improvisational theater. Duluth, MN: Whole Person Associates.

Gioia, D. A. & Chittipeddi, K. 1991. Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation. Strategic Management Journal, 12: 433-448.

Gittell, J. H. 2000. Achieving teamwork within groups: Relational coordination in the context of routine crisis. Unpublished paper, Boston.

Halpern, C., Close, D., & Johnson, K. 1994. Truth in comedy: The manual of improvisation. Colorado Springs, CO: Meriwether Publishing.

Hatch, M. J. 1997. Jazzing up the theory of organizational improvisation. Advances in Strategic Management, 14: 181-191.

Hatch, M. J. 1998. Jazz as a metaphor for organizing in the 21st century. Organization Science, 9(5): 556-557.

Hatch, M. J., & Weick, K. E. 1998. Critical resistance to the jazz metaphor. Organization Science, 9: 600-604.

Hatch, M. J. 1999. Exploring the empty spaces of organizing: How improvisational jazz helps redescribe organizational structure. Organization Studies, 20(1): 75-100.

Higgs, N. 1993. You mean like John Cleese? Executive Development, 6(4): 29-31.

Jackson, P. Z. 1995. Improvisation in training: Freedom within corporate structures. Journal of European Industrial Training, 19(4): 25-28.

Jackson, P. Z. 1998. Impro learning: How to make your training creative, flexible, and spontaneous. UK: Gower.

Jackson, P. Z. 2000. 58 and a half Ways to Improvise In Training. UK: Gower.

Jeffries, F. L. Reed, R. 2002. Trust and adaptation in relational contracting. Academy of Management Review, 25(4): 873-882.

Johnstone, K. 1981. Impro: Improvisation and the theatre. London: Methuen Drama.

Johnstone, K. 1994. Don't be prepared: Theatresports for teachers. Calgary, Canada: Loose Moose Theatre Company.

Johnstone, K. 1999. Impro for storytellers. New York: Routledge/Theatre Arts Books.

Jones, B. 1993. Improve with improv!: A guide to improvisation and character development. Colorado Springs, CO: Meriwether.

Jones, M. 1997. Getting creativity back into corporate decision making. Journal for Quality & Participation, 20(1): 58-62.

Kamoche, K., & Cunha, M. P. 2001. Teamwork, knowlege-creation and improvisation. Comportamento Organizacional e Gestão, 7: 71-85.

Kamoche, K., & Cunha, M. P. 2001. Minimal structures: From jazz improvisation to product innovation. Organization Studies, 22(5): 733-764.

Kamoche, K. N., Cunha, M. P., & Cunha, J. V. (Eds.). 2002. Organizational Improvisation. London: Routledge.

Kamoche, K. N., Cunha, M. P., & Cunha, J. V. 2002. Introduction and overview. In K. Kamoche, M. P. Cunha, & J. V. Cunha (Eds.), Organizational improvisation: 1-13. London: Routledge.

Kanter, R. M. 2002. Strategy as improvisational theater. MIT Sloan Management Review. Winter: 76-81.

Kao, J. 1996. Jamming. New York: HarperBusiness.

Kaspersen, L. B. 2000. Anthony Giddens: An introduction to a social theorist (S. Sampson, Trans.). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Keegan, A., & Turner, J. R. 2001. The organic management of innovation projects. Comportamento Organizacional e Gestão, 7: 57-70.

King, A. W., & Ranft, A. L. 2001. Capturing knowledge and knowing through improvisation: What managers can learn from the thoracic surgery board certification process. Journal of Management, 27: 255-277.

Koppett, K. 2001. Training to imagine: Practical improvisational theatre techniques to enhance creativity, teamwork, leadership, and learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Lawrence, K. A. 1999. The role of relationships in improvisation. Unpublished Working paper, University of Michigan Business School, Ann Arbor, MI.

Lawrence, K. A. 2001. Playing by the rules: A role for improvisation in groups. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Organizational Improviosation, Lisbon, Portugal.

Lowe, R. 2000. Improvisation, Inc.: Harnessing spontaneity to engage people and groups. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Machin, D., & Carrithers, M. 1996. From interpretative communities to communities of improvisation. Media, Culture & Society, 18: 343-352.

Meyer, A. 1998. Organizing for improvisation: The backstage story of the Vancouver jazz concert and symposium. Organization Science, 9(5): 569-576.

Meyer, P. 1998. Improve with improv. Professional Speaker, July/August: 14-16.

Meyer, P. 2000. Quantum creativity: Nine principles to transform the way you work. Chicago: Contemporary Books.

Meyer, P. 2002. Improvisation power. Executive Excellence, 12: 17-18.

Middleton, D. 1996. Talking work: Argument, common knowledge, and improvisation in teamwork. In Y. Engeström, & D. Middleton (Eds.), Cognition and communication at work: 233-256. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Miner, A. S., Bassoff, P., & Moorman, C. 2001. Contours of organizational improvisation and learning: A field study. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46: 304-337.

Mintzberg, H. 1973. The nature of managerial work. New York: Harper & Row.

Mintzberg, H. 1990. The design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 11: 171-195.

Mirvis, P. H. 1998. Practice improvisation. Organization Science, 9(5): 586-592.

Moorman, C., & Miner, A. S. 1998. The convergence of planning and execution: Improvisation in new product development. Journal of Marketing, 6(3): 1-20.

Moorman, C., & Miner, A. S. 1998. Organizational improvisation and organizational memory. Academy of Management Review, 23(4): 698-723.

Mortensen, M. Hinds, P. J. 2001. Conflict and shared identity in geographically distributed teams. International Journal of Conflict Management, 12(3): 212-238.

Moshavi, D. 2001. "Yes, and . . .": Introducing improvsiational theatre techniques to the management classroom. Journal of Management Education, 25(2): 437-449.

Muszynski, G. 1994. Synergy through samba and playing it by ear: A musical approach to personal development and organizational change. Creativity and Innovation Management, 3(3): 196-198.

Nachmanovitch, S. 1990. Free play: Improvisation in life and art. Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher.

Newton, B. 1996. Improvisation: Serious fun for the classroom (a.k.a. The urge to diverge). Scottsdale, AZ: Gifted Psychology Press.

Orlikowski, W. J. 1996. Improvising organizational transformation over time: A situated change perspective. Information Systems Research, 7(1): 63-92.

Orlikowski, W. J., & Hofman, J. D. 1997. An improvisational model for change management: The case of groupware technologies. Sloan Management Review, 38(2): 11-21.

Pascale, R. T. 1984. Perspectives on strategy: The real story behind Honda's success. California Management Review, 26(3): 47-72.

Pasmore, W. A. 1998. Organizing for jazz. Organization Science, 9(5): 562-568.

Peplowski, K. 1998. The process of improvisation. Organization Science, 9(5): 560-561.

Perry, L. T. 1991. Strategic improvising: How to formulate and implement competitive strategies in concert. Organizational Dynamics, 19(4): 51-64.

Peters, T. 1996. The Peters principles. Executive Excellence, 13(7): 11.

Porter, T. W. & Lilly, Bryan S. 1996. The effects of conflict, trust, and task commitment on project team performance. International Journal of Conflict Management, 7(4): 361-376.

Rosenberg, M 1998. The Flexible Thinker: A Guide to Creative Wealth, OYG Publishing

Quinn, R. E. 1988. Beyond rational management: Mastering the paradoxes and competing demands of high performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Quintanilla, C. 1999. Corporate drones go off to improv class. The Wall Street Journal. June 15: B1, B20.

Rerup, C. 2001. "Houston, we have a problem": Anticipation and improvisation as sources of organizational resilience. Comportamento Organizacional e Gestão, 7: 27-44.

Sawyer, K. 1992. Improvisational creativity: An analysis of jazz performance. Creativity Research Journal, 5(3): 253-263.

Seham, A. E. 2001. Whose improv is it anyway?: Beyond second city. Jackson, MI: University of Mississippi.

Southworth, J. S. 1983. Improvisation for nonmusicians: A workshop approach. Journal of Creative Behavior, 17(3): 195-205.

Spolin, V. 1983. Improvisation for the theater. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.

Sutcliffe, K. M., Morris, I., Sitkin, S. B., Obstfeld, D., & Browning, L. D. 2000. Tailoring management tactics to situational requirements. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Toronto.

Sutton, R. I., & Hargadon, A. 1996. Brainstorming groups in context: Effectiveness in a product design firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41: 685-718.

Sweet, J. 1994. Something wonderful right away: An oral history of The Second City and The Compass Players (2nd ed.). New York: Limelight Books.

Tilly, C. 1997. Roads from past to future. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Vaill, P. B. 1989. Managing as a performing art: New ideas for a world of chaotic change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Voyer, J. J., & Faulkner, R. R. 1989. Organizational cognition in a jazz ensemble. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 7(1): 57-77.

Waller, M. J. 1999. The timing of adaptive group responses to nonroutine events. Academy of Management Journal, 42(2): 127-137.

Weick, K. 1987. Substitutes for corporate strategy. In D. Teece (Ed.), The Competitive Challenge: 22-33. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.

Weick, K. E. 1989. Organized improvisation: 20 years of organizing. Communication Studies, 40(4): 241-248.

Weick, K. E. 1993. The collapse of sensemaking in organizations: The Mann Gulch disaster. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38: 628-652.

Weick, K. E. 1993. Organizational redesign as improvisation. In G. P. Huber, & W. H. Glick (Eds.), Organizational change and redesign: Ideas and insights for improving performance: 346-379. New York: Oxford University Press.

Weick, K. E. 1998. Improvisation as a mindset for organizational analysis. Organization Science, 9(5): 543-555.

Weick, K. E. 1999. The aesthetic of imperfection in orchestras and organizations. Comportamento Organizacional e Gestão, 5(1): 5-22.

Weick, K. 2002. The aesthetic of imperfection in orchestras and organizations. In M. V. d. C. Pina e Cunha, Joao and Kamoche, Ken N. (Ed.), Organizational Improvisation: 166-184. New York: Routledge.

Weick, K. E., & Quinn, R. E. 1999. Organizational change and development. Annual Review of Psychology, 50: 361-386.

Weick, K. E., & Van Orden, P. W. 1991. Organizing on a global scale: A research and teaching agenda. Human Resource Management, 29(1): 49-61.

Wicks, A. C.; Berman, S. L. & Jones, T. M. 1999. The structure of optimal trust: Moral and strategic implications. Academy of Management Review, 24(1): 99-116.

Wiener, D. J. 1994. Rehearsals for growth: Theater improvisation for psychotherapists. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Yanow, D. 2001. Learning in and from improvising: Lessons from theater for organizational learning. Reflections, 2(4): 58-62.

Zack, M. H. 2000. Jazz improvisation and organizing: Once more from the top. Organization Science, 11(2): 227-234.

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