The project studies relations between company representatives and their stakeholders. The point of departure is the double meaning of the English concept "performance" in which interpretations and evaluations of accomplishments are related to the evaluation of a staged performance, as on a theatre stage.
(1) Performing one's company: This sub-project aims at studying evaluations of company performance in which the judges - the audiences (the companies' stakeholders) - play an important role. Question posed: How are employees influenced by an awareness of the performances by the company management presented to another stakeholder group, namely the owners, in situations when these two interest groups have different interests in the company's achievements? This perspective on organizations as "performing" is new in management research and should thus contribute to management research and eventually to praxis.
(2) Analogical models in organizing: In the so-called new economy there is a need for a different logic for both managing and organizing. This sub-project aims at contributing to a conceptual development of the use of models of the production process or products as analogical models for designing the logic for management and organization structure. Question posed: How are analogous models used as guidelines for managing and organizing?