Pluralism and the problem of variety

Organizational theorists tend to homogenize what is, in reality, ct plurali stic world, emphasizing the discovery of unifying principles that lend orga nizational focus, legitimacy, and identity while downplaying some of the co mplexity that pluralism often entails. In their original formulation, most organizational theories have richness and depth in modeling pluralistic var iety: over time, however, theorizing seems to have purchased parsimony and generality at the cost of accuracy or realism. We revisit the dominant ques tions from three influential paradigms-strategic management, institutionali sm. and organizational identity-and explore alternative the prizing that ad vantages pluralism.