The psychological view and organization theory

At the 50th anniversary of James D. Thompson’s fundamental book, Organizations in Action, TAO Digital Library proposes a reflection on this great master’s legacy and the evolution of organizational studies. Twelve researchers, from different disciplinary fields, analyze both the texts utilized for teaching and the contribution of several important journals, particularly in recent decades. The outcome is an overall picture that may stimulate different, divergent evaluations and, even more importantly, desirable, deeper reflections. In particular, this chapter - written by G. Scaratti and L. Vecchio - discuss the possible relationships between Thompson’s theory and the perspective of organizational psychology, and examine the articles published in the last two decades by Organization Studies and Human Relations.