TY - BOOK
T1 - Toward an emotion-based perspective on organizations: how organizational practices drive emotions and strategic action
AU - Vuori, Suvi-Tuuli
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - My dissertation examines how organizational practices shape organizational members’ emotions and how these emotions, in turn, influence strategic actions. Organizational practices refer to the established ways of working through which tasks are accomplished. These practices are crucial as they guide daily activities and shape the organization’s behavior over time. Although the relationship between organizational practices and strategic actions has been widely studied, the role of emotions in this process has received less attention. Practices, such as post-action reflection or project work, are not merely cognitive processes; they also have a significant emotional dimension. For this reason, it is essential to study how organizational practices trigger emotions and how these emotions influence actions. The main research question is: How do organizational practices influence organizational members’ emotions, and how do these emotions shape their subsequent actions? My research data is based on a longitudinal case study conducted at a leading Finnish management consulting company from 2017 to 2024. The data includes 145 interviews, 1,630 hours of non-participant observations, and participation in 10 consulting projects. In the first essay, I explore how emotions related to organizational identity shape strategy work. I study how emotions evolve at different stages of organizational growth and how these emotions influence the co-evolution of identity and strategy. In the second essay, I examine how organizational structure affects emotion work and, ultimately, individual and organizational actions. I found that the emotion work differs depending on the role within the organization and affects strategic actions accordingly. In the third essay, I focus on how the timing of practices affects organizational members’ emotions and their ability to act. I found that the timing of reflection practices – whether before, during, or after a project – influences emotions and, consequenty, organizational members’ perceived ability to act. In the fourth essay, I expand methodological understanding of qualitative research by focusing on the researcher’s use of their own emotions. I present a process model that helps researchers utilize their emotions in data collection and analysis. My dissertation makes four key contributions. The first contribution relates to the role of emotions in the co-evolution of organizational identity and strategy. I argue that emotions such as frustration, pride, fear, and anxiety influence the development of identity and strategy at different stages of organizational growth. The second contribution is to show how emotion work is distributed across hierarchical levels within the organization. This offers a new perspective on the emotional demands of different roles and the success of strategic actions. The third contribution is the integration of emotions into the cognitive theories of organizational learning. I demonstrate that the timing of reflection practices significantly impacts emotions, which in turn influence organizational members’ learning and actions. The fourth contribution is methodological: I create a process model that researchers can use to manage their own emotions at different stages of data collection and analysis. Through these contributions, my research provides a deeper understanding of how organizational practices influence emotions and how emotions, in turn, affect strategic actions. Additionally, it introduces new methodological perspectives for conducting qualitative research.
AB - My dissertation examines how organizational practices shape organizational members’ emotions and how these emotions, in turn, influence strategic actions. Organizational practices refer to the established ways of working through which tasks are accomplished. These practices are crucial as they guide daily activities and shape the organization’s behavior over time. Although the relationship between organizational practices and strategic actions has been widely studied, the role of emotions in this process has received less attention. Practices, such as post-action reflection or project work, are not merely cognitive processes; they also have a significant emotional dimension. For this reason, it is essential to study how organizational practices trigger emotions and how these emotions influence actions. The main research question is: How do organizational practices influence organizational members’ emotions, and how do these emotions shape their subsequent actions? My research data is based on a longitudinal case study conducted at a leading Finnish management consulting company from 2017 to 2024. The data includes 145 interviews, 1,630 hours of non-participant observations, and participation in 10 consulting projects. In the first essay, I explore how emotions related to organizational identity shape strategy work. I study how emotions evolve at different stages of organizational growth and how these emotions influence the co-evolution of identity and strategy. In the second essay, I examine how organizational structure affects emotion work and, ultimately, individual and organizational actions. I found that the emotion work differs depending on the role within the organization and affects strategic actions accordingly. In the third essay, I focus on how the timing of practices affects organizational members’ emotions and their ability to act. I found that the timing of reflection practices – whether before, during, or after a project – influences emotions and, consequenty, organizational members’ perceived ability to act. In the fourth essay, I expand methodological understanding of qualitative research by focusing on the researcher’s use of their own emotions. I present a process model that helps researchers utilize their emotions in data collection and analysis. My dissertation makes four key contributions. The first contribution relates to the role of emotions in the co-evolution of organizational identity and strategy. I argue that emotions such as frustration, pride, fear, and anxiety influence the development of identity and strategy at different stages of organizational growth. The second contribution is to show how emotion work is distributed across hierarchical levels within the organization. This offers a new perspective on the emotional demands of different roles and the success of strategic actions. The third contribution is the integration of emotions into the cognitive theories of organizational learning. I demonstrate that the timing of reflection practices significantly impacts emotions, which in turn influence organizational members’ learning and actions. The fourth contribution is methodological: I create a process model that researchers can use to manage their own emotions at different stages of data collection and analysis. Through these contributions, my research provides a deeper understanding of how organizational practices influence emotions and how emotions, in turn, affect strategic actions. Additionally, it introduces new methodological perspectives for conducting qualitative research.
KW - organizational practices
KW - emotions
KW - organizational action
KW - organisaation käytännöt
KW - tunteet
KW - organisaation toiminta
KW - organizational practices
KW - emotions
KW - organizational action
M3 - Doctoral Thesis
SN - 978-952-64-2554-2
T3 - Aalto University publication series Doctoral Theses
PB - Aalto University
ER -