Innovativeness and creativity in bureaucratic organizations: Evidence from the pharmaceutical and the automotive industry

The management literature is presenting a most critical view of the bureaucratic organization form as what is essentially incapable of responding to external changes and providing meaningful work assignment for its co-workers. This negative image of bureaucracy is largely taken for granted and are only occasionally supported by empirical evidence. This paper presents a study of how co-workers in two major companies, one Swedish company, Volvo Car Corporation, and one Swedish-British company, AstraZeneca, conceive of their possibilities to conduct innovative and creative work. As opposed to the critical view of bureaucracy, the interlocutors did not regard the functional and hierarchical organization as an impediment. Instead, the influence of new managerial practices, in many cases of American origin, were pinpointed as potential hinders for innovation. The study concludes that the research on bureaucracy needs to pursue more affirmative views of this organization form and move beyond the ready-made critique of bureaucracy.