Emerging Intentionality in Routine Dynamics: A Pragmatist View
基于实用主义行动理论和一家制药公司的年度民族志研究，揭示了惯例执行中手段凸显如何导致新目标涌现，从而更新惯例目标与模式，扩展了对惯例动态中意向性作用的理解。
This paper responds to recent interest in the role of intentionality in the internal dynamics of routines. Previous research has focused on how routine participants bring particular intentions to the performance of a routine and choose the means for accomplishing the pre-defined ends accordingly. Drawing on the pragmatist theory of action and a yearlong ethnographic study of a pharmaceutical company, we uncover “emerging intentionality” in routine performances. We show how the foregrounding of means within the concrete situation at hand might lead to the emergence of new ends to pursue. Moreover, we find that the emergence of new ends in routine performances might result in updating the goals for the routine and its associated patterns. With these findings, we contribute to a better understanding of the full spectrum of intentional action in routine dynamics, ranging from purposeful action (foregrounding ends) to purposive action (foregrounding means). This expanded perspective on intentionality in routine dynamics suggests a greater potential for continuous routine change than previous research has acknowledged.