Organizational Resistance and Control Dynamics
Summary
Organizational resistance and control dynamics investigate how individuals and groups within organizations negotiate, contest and accommodate forms of managerial authority and power. This field examines both overt mechanisms of control—such as hierarchical structures, surveillance technologies and performance metrics—and subtler modalities, including normative pressures, algorithmic governance and bio-power. Resistance is understood not only as open defiance but also as everyday practices, discursive manoeuvres and affective responses that can subvert, reshape or even reinforce dominant logics. Building on labour process theory and critical management studies, current research emphasises the co-constitutive nature of control and resistance, revealing how acts of dissent may inadvertently bolster managerial oversight or catalyse transformative change. Globally, these dynamics influence employee well-being, innovation capacity and organizational legitimacy, with practical implications for designing participatory decision-making, ethical monitoring systems and adaptive leadership in diverse cultural contexts.
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Organizational Resistance and Control Dynamics publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in organizational resistance and control dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Organizational resistance: Collective or individual actions that oppose or subvert managerial authority, policies or change initiatives within an organization.
Control dynamics: The interplay of formal and informal mechanisms—such as hierarchy, surveillance and normative pressures—that shape behaviour and power relations in organizations.
Hegemonic totalism: A process in which leadership combines coercion and ideological manipulation to secure widespread, unquestioning consent among employees.
Discursive resistance practices: Language-based tactics, including narratives and rhetoric, used by organizational members to contest or reinterpret imposed changes.
Honourable surrender: A form of strategic acquiescence where employees consciously relinquish resistance to protect identity or professional autonomy.
References
- Despotic Leadership and Ideological Manipulation at Theranos: Towards a theory of hegemonic totalism in the workplace. Organization Studies (2023).
- Badass marines: Resistance practices against the introduction of women in the Dutch military. Gender Work and Organization (2022).
- Honorable Surrender: On the Erosion of Resistance in a University Setting. Journal of Management Inquiry (2020).
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