Beyond command and control:tensions arising from empowerment initiatives

In this study, we explore how empowerment initiatives can be understood by drawing on key notions from the power literature. By conceptualizing empowerment as the transformation toward ‘power to’ by actively using ‘power over’, we uncover power-related dynamics and tensions arising from empowerment initiatives in ways that go beyond prior work. Our in-depth case study of an empowerment initiative in a military organization highlights the complex challenges that powerful actors face when attempting to enhance the power to act elsewhere in the organization. Our findings demonstrate how power-related tensions arise between and within actors, as actors combine and shift between different power practices. We find that power tensions are not merely relational in nature (i.e., between actors), but also arise when individual cognition differs from action. By showing how the interplay of different power practices may result in major tensions, our findings provide a new perspective on why organizational empowerment initiatives may produce unintended outcomes or even completely fail. Moreover, while power-over, power-to and transformative power practices are typically explored separately, this study is one of the first to shed light on the complex relation between these power practices, thereby examining them together. Finally, this study demonstrates how cross-fertilization between the empowerment and power discourses may advance both fields

Beyond command and control: Tensions between power over others and power to act

Power-related tensions arise when organizational actors shift between ‘power over’ and ‘power to’ practices of organizing. In this study, we explore these practices of ‘power over’ and ‘power to’, their dynamics and how their co-existence may give rise to tensions within organizations. We draw on an in-depth case study of a military organization, a setting in which power practices can be studied in a straightforward way. Our findings show how power-related tensions between and within actors arise, as they shift between power-over and power-to practices. While existing work in this field predominantly focuses on power tensions between subjects, we demonstrate that power tensions are not merely relational in nature (involving others) but also arise when individual cognition differs from action. Ultimately, these power dynamics shed new light on power-related tensions and challenges within organizations

Beyond command and control: tensions arising from empowerment initiatives

In this study, we explore how empowerment initiatives can be understood by drawing on key notions from the power literature. By conceptualizing empowerment as the transformation toward ‘power to’ by actively using ‘power over’, we uncover power-related dynamics and tensions arising from empowerment initiatives in ways that go beyond prior work. Our in-depth case study of an empowerment initiative in a military organization highlights the complex challenges that powerful actors face when attempting to enhance the power to act elsewhere in the organization. Our findings demonstrate how power-related tensions arise between and within actors, as actors combine and shift between different power practices. We find that power tensions are not merely relational in nature (i.e., between actors), but also arise when individual cognition differs from action. By showing how the interplay of different power practices may result in major tensions, our findings provide a new perspective on why organizational empowerment initiatives may produce unintended outcomes or even completely fail. Moreover, while power-over, power-to and transformative power practices are typically explored separately, this study is one of the first to shed light on the complex relation between these power practices, thereby examining them together. Finally, this study demonstrates how cross-fertilization between the empowerment and power discourses may advance both fields

Developing a sustainable value proposition for effective investor communication

This presentation describes a tool for developing a convincing value proposition for investors, one that is explicitly connected to the SDGs. The tool is specifically developed for deep-tech venture teams that are facing extremely long product development times and thus require substantial amounts of investment capital long before the first customer can be served. This tool extends and integrates various existing tools, such as the Value Proposition Canvas, Theory of Change, and KPIs. Schutselaars et al. (2023), “Designing and testing a tool that connects the value proposition of deep-tech ventures to SDGs”, published in Designs (vol. 7, article nr 50) describe how this tool was designed and tested; see: https://doi.org/10.3390/designs702005

Developing a sustainable value proposition for effective investor communication

This presentation describes a tool for developing a convincing value proposition for investors, one that is explicitly connected to the SDGs. The tool is specifically developed for deep-tech venture teams that are facing extremely long product development times and thus require substantial amounts of investment capital long before the first customer can be served. This tool extends and integrates various existing tools, such as the Value Proposition Canvas, Theory of Change, and KPIs. Schutselaars et al. (2023), “Designing and testing a tool that connects the value proposition of deep-tech ventures to SDGs”, published in Designs (vol. 7, article nr 50) describe how this tool was designed and tested; see: https://doi.org/10.3390/designs702005