2019/12/16 by Medhanie Gaim, Stewart Clegg, Miguel Pina e Cunha +1 · 1 citation
Business, Management and Accounting · #Innovation and Knowledge Management #Management Theory and Practice #Management and Organizational Studies
paper · doi:10.1177/0170840619891199
openalex publication_date 2019/12/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
The challenge of dealing with paradoxes has become a central issue in management and organization studies. Present research literature is largely inclined to idealize paradoxical framing in thinking and theorizing. We critically explore the perils paradoxes present when generated by stretch goals whose ‘achievement’ is accomplished through impression management. Using the Volkswagen emissions scandal we show how paradoxical promises, embraced discursively but not substantively, created false transcendence rather than paradoxical mastery. We contribute to paradox theory by discussing how the illusion of paradox embrace can trigger dysfunctional behaviours. In practice, the paper cautions organizations and their members from being overconfident in their ability to embrace paradoxes successfully.