The concept of transduction and its use in organization studies

Journal article, 2010

This paper discusses the concept of transduction introduced by French philosopher Gilbert Simondon as a generalized model for the individuation of entities, that is, when heterogeneous resources are brought together and temporarily stabilized into functional units. Simondon's thinking, influential in Deleuze's philosophy and Stiegler's view of technology, is then used to examine two non-reductionist theoretical frameworks of organization, Schatzki's concept of the "site of the social" and Czarniawska's "action nets". Both these two theories of organizing adhere to a generalized model of organizing that is fruitfully examined through Simondon's work. The paper concludes that process-based theories of organizing, indebted to Weick's (1969) seminal work, may be increasingly influenced by what in the paper is called biophilosophical writings, theories addressing the ceaseless becoming of biological organisms.