Structure and Meaning in Strategic Paradoxes: Exploring Historical Context in the Emergence of Agrifood Standards

Shane Lee Hamilton; Andrew C. Godley

doi:10.1080/00076791.2024.2317205

Structure and Meaning in Strategic Paradoxes: Exploring Historical Context in the Emergence of Agrifood Standards

Shane Lee Hamilton^*, Andrew C. Godley

^*Corresponding author for this work

The York Management School

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper uses a historical case study of the emergence of a set of agrifood standards to explore the historical development of strategic paradoxes. The paper demonstrates the value of historical methodologies of “zooming in and out” for understanding the contexts in which paradoxical organizational structures develop over time. We explore the evolution of a significant strategic paradox, showing how changing relations between UK poultry producers and food retailers led to the emergence of a fundamental innovation in agrifood standards. The paper contributes to paradox theory by developing a historically rooted analysis of how context—which we theorize as simultaneously structurally determinative and cognitively malleable—can explain why organizational actors come to “live with” a paradoxical dynamic equilibrium in which dialectical power relations remain embedded.

Original language	English
Number of pages	36
Journal	Business History
Early online date	5 Mar 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2024.2317205
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 5 Mar 2024

Bibliographical note

Keywords

paradox
STRATEGY
STANDARDS
agrifood
Agribusiness
historical methods
Poultry industry
ANTIBIOTICS
GlobalGAP
EurepGAP

Access to Document

10.1080/00076791.2024.2317205Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Structure and meaning in strategic paradoxes Exploring historical context in the emergence of agrifood standards
© 2024 The Author(s)
Final published version, 1.78 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "Structure and Meaning in Strategic Paradoxes: Exploring Historical Context in the Emergence of Agrifood Standards ",

abstract = "This paper uses a historical case study of the emergence of a set of agrifood standards to explore the historical development of strategic paradoxes. The paper demonstrates the value of historical methodologies of “zooming in and out” for understanding the contexts in which paradoxical organizational structures develop over time. We explore the evolution of a significant strategic paradox, showing how changing relations between UK poultry producers and food retailers led to the emergence of a fundamental innovation in agrifood standards. The paper contributes to paradox theory by developing a historically rooted analysis of how context—which we theorize as simultaneously structurally determinative and cognitively malleable—can explain why organizational actors come to “live with” a paradoxical dynamic equilibrium in which dialectical power relations remain embedded. ",

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