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This paper introduces this special issue and initially provides some contextual background to the field of psychodynamics, its significance to organisational studies and the understanding of behaviour in organizations. The internationally-based papers in this special issue are then introduced and summarised.

Aspects of the psychodynamics of organisation change are explored and in particular how emotion and emotionality can be read. A case is made to go beyond the dichotomous world of “rational” versus “emotional” and develop a greater appreciation of how the rational and the emotional can be “fused” or act in a co‐existent and co‐dependent fashion where one cannot be understood in the absence of the other. Read through the optic of identity, acts of so‐called rationality may simply be an expression of a deeper, albeit unconscious realm – psychodynamics, in which emotion and emotionality are significant. It is through the optic of identity that the individual’s attachment to the organisation is described and the meaning of behaviour in the midst of change is canvassed. It is noted that, depending upon the degree of identification with the organisation, one encounters behaviours that reflect dislodgement of identity and those more commonly associated with the processes of grieving. Some tentative strategies are advanced in managing these behaviours.

The objective of this paper is to introduce a dialogue between theoretical frameworks that rarely have contact: human resource management (HRM), ergonomics and work psychodynamics. Although these three fields of knowledge highlight the human side of socially sustainable organizations, no prior study was identified that interrelated them.

In order to overcome this limitation, a brief theoretical foundation was made on these themes. They were later systematized to form a relational model and a research agenda.

In light of the proposed model, it is possible to verify that HRM, ergonomics and work psychodynamics have a vibrant relationship that generates important theoretical propositions to be explored by future research.

The paper contributes towards a systemic approach of such important themes, which the human being has as a common denominator, but whose links still require future research. As its main result, we record the need for a more in‐depth understanding of the elements that act in the interface between the formal and prescribed organization and the informal, which stems from social reality. An understanding of this relationship is necessary to building socially sustainable organizations.

Jung’s discussion of archetypes and the psychodynamics of mirroring is applied to the results of a ten‐year longitudinal case study. Empirical evidence of such psychodynamics and insights into how these psychodynamics are related to the management of change are presented. Directions for further research are also discussed.

The notion of the unconscious is introduced and contextualised as part of the larger psychodynamics relevant to the process of managing change. The other papers in this special issue are introduced.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the emotional dynamics of the corporate acceleration process, using the systems psychodynamics perspective.

The study applies inductive multiple case study of embedded 10 cases of corporate acceleration, covering both incumbent and startup perspectives, occurring in the context of a corporate accelerator.

We find that (1) the process of corporate acceleration involves three phases, each of them is dominated by a different emotional state (hope, anxiety and acceptance), triggering different behavioral responses; (2) as a means to deal with negative emotions, entrepreneurs and corporate acceleration program's team members develop different mechanisms of dealing with contradictories in subsequent acceleration phases (defense and copying mechanisms), which are reflected in their behaviors. Coping mechanisms with goal reformulation (i.e. refocus from the officially declared “open innovation” goals toward mainly symbolic ones) is an effective strategy to manage negative emotions in third phase of the acceleration.

Our sample is limited to two relatively similar accelerators established by telecom companies, and therefore, our theoretical and practical conclusions cannot be generalized.

We supplement the studies of corporate accelerators that imply how to design them better and improve decision-making rules with recommendation that in order to improve their effectiveness in terms of learning and innovations, their managers need not only to learn how to manage structural and procedural differences but also how to overcome social defenses triggered by corporate–startups cooperation.

By documenting a multidimensional impact of acceleration process, and especially shedding light on psychodynamic aspects behind such liaisons, this paper contributes to richer understanding of corporate–startup relationships, typically examined through a rationalistic lens of strategy literature. The study contributes to interorganizational research and open innovation literature, by showing that corporate acceleration process is marked by phases based on the type of emotions intertwined with the nature and dynamism of its life cycle. It indicates how these emotions are managed depending on their type.

The critical theory of the Frankfurt School was imbued with a vision that apprehended social milieu as dialectic. Those who wish to adopt a dialectical orientation to their work as agents of and for change need to appreciate that such an orientation is likely to engender certain psychodynamics within themselves and others. In this particular setting, both individual and collective catharsis is to be expected as the contextually‐discovered revelation of, and reflection on, the “social amnesia” of the present organizational and social patterns. In many senses the organization should be considered as functioning as a therapeutic setting.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect critically on the roles that women leaders in higher education institutions (HEIs) take on. Therefore, a systems psychodynamic view is used from a theoretical stance, while an autoethnographical methodology is applied to provide an in-depth emic view of, and reflections on, women leaders’ roles in the described context.

The study draws on the authors’ personal and organisational autoethnographical experiences as women leaders in HEIs in South Africa. Two women of different background reflect on their roles, and on becoming “containers” for certain issues within the described context over a period of time.

The autoethnographies show the roles women leaders take on within the organisations and how this relates to becoming a container for issues and underlying anxieties and fears that arise within the South African higher education system. The women leaders take on roles which contain fear and insecurities with regard to racial belonging, segregation and inclusion, national belonging, gendered roles, marginalisation and connection through self and others, authority and decision making.

The study is limited to autoethnographic experience descriptions of two academic women working in post-apartheid South African HEIs.

Presenting the self-described roles of two academics, the paper provides a critical perspective on issues of racialised and gendered roles, marginalisation and inclusion, authority and decision making, workplace stereotyping, gendering and racism, and thereby increases awareness about the impact of roles within the system’s context.

Presenting the self-described roles of two academics, the paper provides a critical perspective on issues of racialised and gendered roles, marginalisation and inclusion, authority and decision making, workplace stereotyping, gendering and racism, and thereby increases awareness about the impact of roles within the system’s context.

Aspects of the psychodynamics of organisation change are explored and in particular how emotion and emotionality should be conceived. A case is made to go beyond the dichotomous world of “rational” versus “emotional” and develop a greater appreciation of how the rational and the emotional can be “fused” or act in a co‐existent and co‐dependent fashion where one cannot be understood in the absence of the other. Read through the optic of identity, acts of so called rationality may simply be an expression of a deeper, albeit unconscious realm – psychodynamics in which emotion and emotionality are significant. It is through the optic of identity that the individual’s attachment to the organisation is described and the meaning of behaviour in the midst of change is canvassed. It is noted that, depending upon the degree of identification with the organisation, one encounters behaviours that reflect dislodgement of identity and those more commonly associated with the processes of grieving. Some tentative strategies are advanced in managing these behaviours.

The study of group dynamics was central to the field of organization development at its inception. More recently, there has been a move away from considering irrational and unconscious dynamics in organizational life and more attention focused on rational and observable behavior that can be measured and quantified. We introduce the tool, Beneath the Surface of the Burke-Litwin Model, that invites consideration of how the overt behavior of individuals, groups, and entire systems is linked to covert dynamics. This more comprehensive view of organizational life provides scholar-practitioners with a systemic perspective, a view of covert dynamics by organizational level, and support for the ongoing development of one’s capacity for using self-as-instrument when engaged in organization development and organization change efforts.