“A Garbage Can Model” At Forty: A Solution that Still Attracts Problems

Abstract

The main task of scholars is to help good ideas forged by their predecessors find a new life in the imaginations of their successors. In this essay, we consider some aspects of this process from our experience with garbage can ideas of organizational decision making. We record our memories of initial encounters with them, impressions of their current condition, and some thoughts on convolutions they may experience in the years ahead.

Citation

Cohen, M.D., March, J.G. and Olsen, J.P. (2012), "“A Garbage Can Model” At Forty: A Solution that Still Attracts Problems", Lomi, A. and Harrison, J.R. (Ed.) The Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice: Looking Forward at Forty (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 36), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 19-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X(2012)0000036005