Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2008

DOI

10.1177/1056492608316118

Publication Title

Journal of Management Inquiry

Volume

17

Issue

4

Pages

306-317

Abstract

This article describes how institutions get infused with competing logics and analyzes how such competing logics might aid the design of contemporary organizations. It does so by exploring the contrasting views of American founders Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson on the issues they confronted in the years leading up to and after the United States' independence from the British. Their views have had a lasting influence on the character and efficacy of the U.S. government. Although Hamilton and Jefferson contemplated issues related to the governance of the United States, the authors argue that their writings offer insights that can be useful to students of organizational design. They identify four influential ideas from the writings of Hamilton and Jefferson and discuss their implications for organizational design.

ORCID

0000-0001-6033-8095 (Nair)

Original Publication Citation

Nair, A., & Ahlstrom, D. (2008). Balancing Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian contradictions within organizations. Journal of Management Inquiry, 17(4), 306-317. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1056492608316118

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