The intersection between cognitive sciences and organizational studies has created a new field of research called organizational cognition. Research in this field is based on a view of organizational processes as the result of social constructions - the exchange and articulation of ideas among those involved in the organization. Thus, a great emphasis is given to the role of the actor's cognitions, which mediate important organizational processes and products. Cognitive maps have been increasingly used in this domain as tools to represent the cognitive structures and processes that help to understand the decisions and actions that define an organization. The present text first identifies the research objectives that justify the use of cognitive maps, then characterizes these tools based on the methodological issues that differentiate among various approaches. The third and final topic addressed involves a discussion of the limits and potentialities of cognitive maps as research tools in the study of organizational processes.
Cognition; Organization; Cognitive Maps; Causal Maps
