Innovation, uncertainty and micro-politics in organizations

The paper is concerned with technical and organizational innovation in work organizations. it employs an 'internal politics' approach based on two central concepts: 'zones of uncertainty' and 'politioal arenas'. control over four zones of uncertainty (problem definition, choice of means, process integration, integration into the organization) is regarded as a source of power in organizational micro-politics. three major political arenas are distinguished: the relation between top and middlemanagement, relations between factions of the middle management and the relation between management and workers. empirical analysis on the basis of case studies of the introduction of new technologies into various firms in austria yields the following main results: the absorption of uncertainty inherent to such innovation processes is influenced by organizational as well as environmental structures producing typical patterns of micro-politics. innovation processes representing a 'project of consent' can be differentiated from the type of 'hegemonic compromise' and 'authoritarian enforcement'. relations between these patterns and the way the organization and control of work is restructured can be identified.;