Connecting actions and creating recognizability in routines

Our study examines how actions are connected in organizational routines, i.e., repetitive and recognizable patterns of interdependent actions, when key participants are newcomers. For routine dynamics, the connecting of actions plays a central role in patterning, i.e., the process through which participants create recognizability. While recent research has explored the roles of performing and experiences, less is known regarding how actions are connected when key participants in the routine are newcomers who typically lack recognition.

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We examine this issue by exploring a creativity routine at a design agency. We draw from seven months of fieldwork that trace a multi-project collaboration involving the agency and a new client team. Based on our analysis of the corresponding data which spans observation, artifacts, and interviews, we identify key findings and insights that center on the granularity and temporality of connecting actions in routines, and we consider how such connecting unfolds over time. These findings and insights advance the scholarly understanding of patterning and routine dynamics research.