organisativ

Organisativ is a term used in some organizational and social theory writings to denote the active process by which social actors create, maintain, and modify social order through practices, routines, rules, and institutions. The term is not widely standardized in English-language scholarship and may appear as a coinage in specific theoretical traditions or translations from other languages. In general usage, organisativ refers to both the organization of social action and the organizing principles that underlie collective activity.

In practice, analyses labeled organisativ tend to examine how networks coordinate work, how norms become institutionalized, how decision-making structures emerge, and how ongoing organizing shapes outcomes. It emphasizes process over static structure and treats agency as distributed among individuals, artifacts, and rules. The concept highlights how everyday practices—communication, routines, and governance arrangements—contribute to the emergence and modification of larger social orders.

Relation to other concepts: organisativ can be seen as related to organizational theory, institutionalism, and sociotechnical systems, but with a focus on the dynamic act of organizing rather than merely describing organizational properties. It often intersects with ideas such as reflexivity, governance, coordination, routines, and standard operating procedures.

History and usage: the term appears in a limited number of European theoretical writings, sometimes as a thematic label in discussions about how collective action becomes structured or how organizations come into being. Because of its relatively informal status, precise definitions and mappings to established terminology vary across sources.

See also: organization theory, institutionalism, sociotechnical systems, collective action.