David John Hickson (20 April 1931 – 22 June 2016) was a British organizational theorist and Emeritus Professor of International Management and Organization at the Bradford University School of Management, known for his work in the field of

organisational development Organization development (OD) is the study and implementation of practices, systems, and techniques that affect organizational change. The goal of which is to modify a group's/organization's performance and/or culture. The organizational chang ...

(OD).

Life and work

Hickson obtained his MA at the

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for Research univer ...

, after he had started working. There he was spotted by the academic professor

Reg Revans Reginald William Revans (14 May 1907 – 8 January 2003) was an academic professor, administrator and management consultant who pioneered the use of Action learning. He was also a long jumper who represented Britain at the 1928 Summer Olym ...

, who recognized his potential as researcher., European Group for Organizational Studies, EGOS. Accessed 27.01.2015. Later in his career he received an Honorary Ph.D. from the University of Umea in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In the 1950s, Hickson had started his career in financial administration, and had become Assistant Secretary of the Bristol Stock Exchange. After graduation in the late 1950s, he became research assistant at the then Birmingham College of Advanced Technology, later the

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston'' for post-nominals) is a public university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first College of a ...

. in the 1960s, he joined the Aston Group, a group of organizational researchers under the leadership of Derek S. Pugh. In collaboration with Canadian scientists they developed the contingency approach. In the 1970s, Hickson was co-founder of the European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS). He became Professor of International Management and Organization at Bradford School of Management,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was served as a visiting professor in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. And he was founding Editor-in-Chief of ''

Organization Studies Organization studies (also called organization science or organizational studies) is the academic field interested in a ''collective activity, and how it relates to organization, organizing, and management''. It is "the examination of how individ ...

,'' an international research journal.

Work

Hickson's research interests "are how societal culture affects managerial decision making in different nations and what influences the success of major decisions. His previous research has included processes of managerial decision making, power in organizations, and

bureaucratization Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

."David J. Hickson
profile at ''sagepub.com.'' Accessed 27/01/2015

Selected publications

* Hickson, David J., and Derek Salman Pugh. ''Management worldwide: The impact of societal culture on organizations around the globe.'' London: Penguin Books, 1995. ;Articles, a selection * Pugh, D. S., Hickson, D. J., Hinings, C. R., Macdonald, K. M., Turner, C., & Lupton, T. (1963). "A conceptual scheme for organizational analysis." ''Administrative Science Quarterly,'' 289-315. * Pugh, D. S., Hickson, D. J., Hinings, C. R., & Turner, C. (1968).
Dimensions of organization structure
" ''Administrative science quarterly,'' 65-105. * Pugh, D. S., Hickson, D. J., Hinings, C. R., & Turner, C. (1969). "The context of organization structures." ''Administrative Science Quarterly,'' 91-114. * Hickson, D. J., Hinings, C. R., Lee, C. A., Schneck, R. E., & Pennings, J. M. (1971).
A strategic contingencies' theory of intraorganizational power
" ''Administrative Science Quarterly,'' 216-229.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickson, David J. 1931 births 2016 deaths British business theorists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of Aston University Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of the University of Bradford