The paper examines the stated reasons for recent mergers between members of the (former) Big Eight accounting firms. The reasons are expressed in terms of hypotheses about the perceived advantages of very large size and the hypotheses are tested using 1986-9 data from the top 1000 Canadian...

The general study of organizational change and the specific development of the concepts of transformation and transition has come about in a way which is typical of organization theory. On the one hand there were increasing theoretical and methodological criticisms of the 1970s...

Max Weber’s influence upon the study of organizations has been profound, perhaps unrivaled. But his contemporary relevance is less certain. This special issue celebrates the achievements of Weber and, at the same time, reflects on his current influence. Contributors vary in their assessment...

The uniqueness of professional service firms (PSFs) has been well established. Accounting, law, engineering, and management consulting firms are known to differ significantly from both traditional manufacturing and service organizations in their organizational and managerial arrangements. Their...

Three decades! Founded in 1980, Organization Studies is, today, an established and important fixture of the intellectual landscape. For some, it seems only yesterday that the journal made its initial, bold appearance as the official publication of EGOS, itself a (then) relatively recent...

This special issue had it roots in a symposium organized by Tammar Zilber and Roy Suddaby for the Academy of Management 2003 annual meetings in Seattle. The symposium was titled "Reclaiming the Symbolic in Institutional Theory" and represented an effort to refocus research attention on the...