‘The Resonant Organization in a Digital Age’

There are many different metaphors, which help us make sense of the complex and ambiguous nature of organizations and organizing. In this paper I will discuss another one: resonance. The concept of resonance used in this short paper is inspired by the work of sociologist Hartmut Rosa who argues that a ‘good life’ hinges on a responsive, resonant relationship to the world. Departing from his theory, which I briefly outline in this paper, my aim is to explore if and how his concept has any value to understand and shape the digitalization of organizations. I will present some empirical cases of potentially resonant but also non-resonant ways of digitalizing organizations and discuss what those might tell us about potentials and pitfalls of trying to make organizations digitalizable and resonant.