ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors propose several ways in which neuroanatomical approaches could be used to enhance organizational theory, practice and research. They suggest that truly interdisciplinary and collaborative research between neuroanatomists and organizational analysts is likely to provide novel approaches to exploring and improving organizational performance. The authors focus on exploring the requirements for a neuroanatomical approach to organizational performance at the level of the individual organization. They describe the emerging branch of cognitive neuroscience that brings together social psychology with neuroscience—social cognitive neuroscience—and its application to organizations. The authors also propose a new theory-informed and interdisciplinary approach to build on the use of the brain as a metaphor/analogy for understanding the nature and performance of organizations, incorporating long-standing and neuroanatomical principles underlying the structure and function of the brain into organizational theory and research. They highlight the significant interdisciplinary and collaborative potential that exists for sharing insights and approaches between neuroanatomical research and research on organizational performance.
