Tuning In To Organizational Innovation Music As A Metaphor To Understand The Improvisational Field In Organizations

What allows today's companies and organizations to be innovative in a complex world? How can we disclose the secrets of an innovative culture in organizations? We argue that musical language and a technology of improvisation can play a major role as an innovative approach to meet today's challenges in organizing complex processes. The paper gives a definition of “improvisation” and describes the concept of the” improvisational field” which are requirements for research on a technology of improvisation. The connection between music, organization and improvisation is constructed by the detection of improvisational “patterns” in organizations.