The project analyses practices and their evolution in relation to the development of an organization and its workings. Investigated in particular is the relationship between the "practice reconfiguration" – i.e. the process of changing an organization’s practices – and the organization’s achievement of greater competitiveness and capacity. For this purpose it is necessary to understand practices and how they evolve within an organization.

Study of practices and their reconfiguration across the different organizations, sectors and countries sheds light on how they contribute to the efficiency of organizations. The sectors considered are biotechnology (one of the most advanced), retail banking (currently in crisis), and management consultancy.

The first aim of the project is to understand the role of practice in organizational change. The second is to determine the efforts made by organizations to remain in the market, doing so from the standpoint of practices and their evolution. The third objective is to understand how practice-based organizational capacities evolve.

The methods used for the research are qualitative and consist of semi-structured interviews, observations, and ethnographic analyses.

The RUCOLA research unit’s contribution to the project consists in analysis of practices and their evolution in the biotechnology sector.

Researchers: Silvia Gherardi (coordinator), Manuela Perrotta (referent), Attila Bruni
Period: fine 2004 -2006
Funding: Network interuniversitario - Gnosis