Organizations are made up of individuals, and there is no organization without individuals.
There is nothing quite as elementary; yet, this elementary truth seems to have been lost in the
increasing focus on structure, routines, capabilities, culture, institutions, and various other
collective conceptualizations in much of recent strategic organization research. It is not
overstating the matter too much to say that “organization” has generally entered the field of
strategy in the form of various aggregate concepts.
This editorial essay is born out of a frustration on our part for the present individual-less state of
much of strategic organization and the taken-for-grantedness of “organization.” Specifically, the
underlying argument of this essay is that individuals matter and that micro-foundations are
needed for explanation in strategic organization. In fact, to fully explicate organizational
anything – whether identity, learning, knowledge, or capabilities – one must fundamentally begin
with and understand the individuals that compose the whole, specifically, their underlying nature,
choices, abilities, propensities, heterogeneity, purposes, expectations, and motivations. While
using the term “organizational” may serve as helpful shorthand for discussion purposes and for
“reduced form” empirical analysis, truly explaining (beyond correlations) the organization, (e.g.,
existence, decline, capability, or performance), or any collective for that matter, requires starting
with the individual as the central actor.