The God of Variance has feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advocate the use of processual rather than the common variance‐theoretic approaches to the study of groups and organizational processes. There is a proliferation of paradigms and a lack of cumulation in organization science. This paper argues that this is due to the adoption of an inappropriate philosophy. Early on, the field adopted the variance‐theoretic approach instead of a process‐theoretic approach. The dominant paradigm is not one of theory, but one of method. Design/methodology/approach – The paper systematically undermines the basis for variance‐theoretic approaches to the study of groups and organizational phenomena, followed by a discussion of how and why processual approaches provide remedies. Findings – As group and organizational phenomena are inherently processual in nature, it makes more sense to study them with processual methods. Research limitations/implications – The argument for the solution offered in this article is based on one concept of a group and organizational process. Other types of process models are not excluded. Practical implications – It is possible that the continued use of variance‐theoretical approaches is a form of professional misconduct leading to paradigm proliferation instead of progress. Originality/value – This paper provides an original analysis of both variance‐theoretic and processual approaches to the study of group and organizational processes.