This is a comprehensive analysis of the present state of organization theory. The author traces the evolution and particularly the more recent history of the field, and its scope and content. He then considers the relevant literature organized by major issues and concepts.

The Development and Scope of Organization Studies ; Understanding the Causes of Behaviour ; Five Models of Behaviour ; The Effects of Organizational Composition ; Mechanisms of Social Control ; Developing and Exercising Power and Influence ; Organizational Performance ; Organizations from a Critical Theory Perpective ; New Directions for Organization Theory

"Jeffrey Pfeffer's book is a real contribution to the field. It is a masterful blend of rigorous literature review and synthesis along with provocative ideas and challenges for scholars of organizations. Pfeffer manages to not only span multiple literatures and levels of analysis, but he also steps back to inject his own critical opinions on where the field of organizations has been and, even more importantly, directions in which it should proceed. This book deserves to be required reading for any individual seriously interested in understanding how and why organizations work the way they do".--Michael Tushman, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University "...a concise but comprehensive coverage of the main trends in the field.[...]Given the author's well-deserved reputation, I believe that this book...will influence the thinking of researchers in all domains of organizational theory."--Academy of Management Review "An even-handed, eclectic, at times critical discussion. [. . .] Pfeffer has gathered a significant evidential base that shores up our efforts to translate theory into practice. [. . .] New Directions is vintage Pfeffer scholarship, which means he samples richly, articulately, and knowingly from a vast literature, supplies a reasonable representation of lines of work, and provides an informed pretext for seasoned scholars of organization to ask, 'Is this what I signed on for?' [. . .] This is a good read!"--Administrative Science Quarterly "Jeffrey Pfeffer's book is a real contribution to the field. It is a masterful blend of rigorous literature review and synthesis along with provocative ideas and challenges for scholars of organizations. Pfeffer manages to not only span multiple literatures and levels of analysis, but he also steps back to inject his own critical opinions on where the field of organizations has been and, even more importantly, directions in which it should proceed. This book deserves to be required reading for any individual seriously interested in understanding how and why organizations work the way they do".--Michael Tushman, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University "...a concise but comprehensive coverage of the main trends in the field.[...]Given the author's well-deserved reputation, I believe that this book...will influence the thinking of researchers in all domains of organizational theory."--Academy of Management Review "An even-handed, eclectic, at times critical discussion. [. . .] Pfeffer has gathered a significant evidential base that shores up our efforts to translate theory into practice. [. . .] New Directions is vintage Pfeffer scholarship, which means he samples richly, articulately, and knowingly from a vast literature, supplies a reasonable representation of lines of work, and provides an informed pretext for seasoned scholars of organization to ask, 'Is this what I signed on for?' [. . .] This is a good read!"--Administrative Science Quarterly

Jeffrey Pfeffer is Thomas D. Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford. He is the author of six books, 90 articles and book chapters and has won numerous academic awards and honors for his research.