Free musical improvisation as an alternative model for organization

Stéphane Robin (1)

1 PRISM Sorbonne - Pôle de recherche interdisciplinaire en sciences du management

We explore the potential of free musical improvisation as an organizational model. We identify four constituent parts to this model: (i) it involves improvisation at its highest degree, (ii) it allows for the emergence of ex post structures and organizational forms, (iii) it proposes to engage with others through self-discovery and (iv) it relies intensively on bricolage. It is also inherently protean, which makes it fit various types of organizational improvisation. It can thus be episodic, subversive, resistive and it may even appear in a semi-structured context. Empirically, its locus lies in organizations where creativity is the prime directive. We highlight two limits of the model: First, it cannot apply to organizations where safety is a major concern. Second, it may come at the cost of increased job insecurity, which restricts its acceptability to specific segments of a society.

Mots clés: organizational improvisation musical improvisation non idiomatic free improvisation; organizational improvisation; musical improvisation; non idiomatic free improvisation

Domaines: Gestion et management; Musique, musicologie et arts de la scène

Stéphane Robin. Free musical improvisation as an alternative model for organization. 2023. ⟨hal-04080990⟩