Organizational Risk after Modernism

This study identifies the modernist assumptions in organizational risk research, along with their historical origin and limitations. Risk research from a modernist perspective focuses primarily on individuals, treats risk preferences as exogenously given, attempts to quantify risk, assumes that risk reflects a given probability distribution, omits ethical considerations, and neglects actions by focusing on decision making. This study proposes a contrasting postmodern perspective on organizational risk. By this view, risk is a social and multilevel phenomenon; risk preferences, perceptions, and responses are learned; risk is subjectively perceived and often unquantifiable; the environment is a complex, socially constructed system; ethical considerations are integral to risk assessment and management; and organizations respond to risk through their actions, not just by making decisions. These themes motivate new directions for organizational risk research.