Post-industrial Intervention : An Activity-Theoretical Expedition Tracing the Proximal Development of Forms of Conducting Interventions

Ei saatavilla

The purpose of this study is to investigate which forms of conducting interventions could effectively address a qualitatively new type of problems ('post-industrial problems') which are located between activities and which cannot be resolved by adapting standard solutions. This is achieved by combining a historical-analytical investigation with an empirical-experimental investigation. The historical-analytical part commences by investigating the origin of forms of conducting interventions with a unit of analysis for the further procedure as an outcome. The unit of analysis serves as the basis for the analysis of some selected past and contemporary forms of conducting interventions. This leads to the comprehension of the historical dynamics of forms of conducting interventions, including a historical hypothesis of a zone of proximal development. The empirical-experimental part takes the study from the comprehension of the current state to a discussion of a qualitatively new form of conducting interventions that could address post-industrial problems effectively. Concrete characteristics of an example of a new form of conducting interventions are identified by following the developmental trajectory of theoretically interesting cases that experiment with new models of intervention. The Change Laboratory method is used to analyze and support the development in the central empirical case, a New Zealand-based research-consultancy hybrid. The historical analyses suggest that intervention activity has its roots in societal problem-solving processes, that is, innovation and diffusion processes, associated with periods of radical change in work and organizations, such as those occurring during technological revolutions. In the majority of the 20th century a clear-cut societal division of labor between established types of conducting interventions can be observed: (1) 'Scholar-entrepreneurs' developed and tested innovative solutions for the efficient operation of factories, effective strategic management of multinational corporations and ICT infrastructure for supporting work processes in companies. (2) Large efficiency consultancies, management consultancies and IT consultancies took up these organizational innovations and focused on adapting and disseminating solutions that entailed a fundamental change in the logic of client activities. (3) After the unbalanced top-down implementation of fundamental organizational innovations (with regard to efficiency, strategy/structure or ICT) problems such as Human Relations, weak cooperation or weak quality emerged or were aggravated. These problems were often addressed by intervention-oriented research centers, which relied on methodologies for creating innovative solutions. (4) In times of societal turmoil, government agencies were involved in organizing state interventions that diffused standardized solutions for partial organizational problems (e.g., in Human Relations or regarding quality issues) to a large number of work activities and by this provided the means to alleviate situations. With the emergence of complex network organizations and post-industrial problems at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, the need has increased for new forms of conducting interventions ('post-industrial' forms) which (1) combine a focus on creating innovative solutions with a focus on adapting and disseminating solutions, as well as (2) combine the focus on fundamental change in the logic of work organization with the focus on balanced transformation. In the analysis of selected experiments on conducting interventions, variants of Developmental Work Research are identified as possible instruments of post-industrial forms. A dynamic network of activities that contribute to a joint problem-solving process is identified as a possible community arrangement of post-industrial forms. This study argues that the creation of solutions can develop a more disseminating character and the dissemination of solutions a more creative character, if intervention activity is not organized within the boundaries of one consultancy firm or research center, but is instead carried out by a network of actors and organizations.