Lecture Topic: How to Integrate Chinese and Western Perspectives on Managerial Paradoxes?

Speaker: Josh Keller, Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales

Date and Time: June 5, 2024, 10:00-11:30 AM

Venue: Qiushi Building, Room 343

Language: Chinese and English

Moderator: Chen Wen, Assistant Professor at the School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China

Lecture Summary:

Paradox theory has recently emerged as an important conceptual and empirical framework for examining persistent, interrelated contradictions in organizations, spanning multiple levels of analyses from individuals to teams to organizations to fields to societies. Unlike scholars engaged in most contemporary theories on organizations, paradox theory scholars have long emphasized that classical Chinese philosophy, especially Taoist philosophy, is a foundational element of the theory. However, integrating Chinese and Western perspectives on paradox theory, in practice, has been, in itself paradoxical. Some of the challenges reflect differences between emic (i.e., from the culture’s perspective) and etic (i.e., from outside the culture’s perspective) approaches, which are commonly found in other literature. Some issues, however, reflect underlying contradictions within the specific theory, such as the relationship between normative and descriptive features of the theory. Other issues reflect the challenges of studying paradox empirically. In this seminar, Prof Keller will introduce paradox theory and its application for studying organizations and related disciplines, discuss Chinese and Western approaches to the theory, the challenges in integrating the perspectives, and suggestions for how to move forward. The seminar is not only aimed at scholars interested in paradox theory, but also other scholars interested in how to integrate Western and non-Western theories of organizations.

Guest Biography:

Josh Keller is Associate Professor of Management and Governance at UNSW Sydney. He is the founder of the Paradox Research Education and Practice Community, which connects paradox scholars around the globe. His research has been published in many top-tier journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Organization Studies, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Human Relations, Journal of Business Venturing, and Journal of Business Ethics. Before receiving his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, Prof Keller studied Chinese philosophy at Peking University and Nanjing University and worked in the telecommunications and internet sectors in China.

This academic seminar is hosted by the School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, and co-organized by Renmin Business School, the College of Business Administration of Capital University of Economics and Business, and the Management College of Beijing Union University.