Saying yes to mess: disorganization as an antecedent to dynamic capabilities

Abstract

Modern businesses constantly operate in an environment filled with unpredictability. Such unpredictability and heightened dynamism require rapid responses, mainly prompted by the realization that such irregular phenomena cannot be dealt with using conventionally structured and organized approaches alone. In line with this ongoing conversation fuelled notably by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated digital acceleration, in this paper, we lay out the case for how “actively embracing disorganization” as a new work form can be a mechanism that facilitates the creation and enactment of important dynamic capabilities thus enhancing a firm’s ability to cope with unpredictable environments. In doing so, we attempt to make a novel contribution outlining the relationship between disorganization and dynamic capabilities through propositions and an accompanying conceptual framework. In this article, we position disorganization as a form of organizational design capable of enabling the link between dynamic capabilities and performance.