Contingency in valuations: On the interdependence of multiple values and waste in organizations

How organizations connect to multiple values is well explored, while the role of valuelessness and waste therein remains understudied. The purpose of this article is therefore to conceptualize the interrelations among multiple values, organizations, and waste. By cross-fertilizing sociological perspectives on organizations with insights from valuation studies, we inquire into how waste arises when organizations engage with multiple values. Drawing on systems theory, the conceptual proposal we offer highlights that organizations prioritize values contingently in valuation processes. These processes are guided by organizational programs that provide guidance, coordination, and justification while being applied in specific situations. We argue that these valuation processes lead to the interdependent construction of worth and waste and propose to distinguish between worthless (rejected) and worth-free (ignored or overlooked) waste. We employ a specific case—the hospital—to illustrate how our conceptual arguments apply. This illustration, with its underlying conceptual account, highlights the way in which multiple values and waste are interlinked through organizations, enriching our understanding of the intersection of multiple values, organization and waste in valuation processes.