| As a grounded theory study, this dissertation explores how human groups create visions that are associated with new forms of organization and social relationship through the organization development methodology of Appreciative Inquiry. While the terms organizational vision and visioning are part of the everyday discourse for both organizational scholars and practitioners, neither the processes nor the socially innovative outcomes of visioning have been well documented in the literature. In this descriptive study, dynamics and outcomes of visioning were observed in an organizational capacity-building program where private voluntary organizations incorporated Appreciative Inquiry into their strategic learning and planning efforts. We tracked seven of the organizations over two years and documented their related social innovations at multiple levels (e.g., new leadership styles, team structures, strategic orientations, partnerships and alliances). A grounded theory was built from case studies that depicts visioning as a continuous process in which widening communities of stakeholders inquire into previously unexplored ideals. Eight primary dynamics of visioning are identified and described: heeding the call; valuing the essence; experiencing the ideal; finding meaning in metaphors; realizing relationships of mutuality; affirming the promise; knowing the abundant present; and, installing hope. These dynamics are triggered by the idealistic challenging of habitual assumptions, beliefs and behaviors, which occurs in the desire for new and more generative ideals. When cultivated by a climate of appreciation, these dynamics form the very conditions for the emergence of social innovations. An ecological framework is presented that analyzes how and why social innovations escalate outward to broader and more complex levels of socio-organizational relationship. Implications of this theory are then offered for future organizational research and practice. |
