Handbook of Philosophy of Management

1072 Pages·2022·13.846 MB·English

by  Cristina Neesham, Markus Reihlen, Dennis Schoeneborn

Handbooks in Philosophy
Cristina Neesham
Markus Reihlen
Dennis Schoeneborn
Editors
Handbook of
Philosophy of
Management
Handbooks in Philosophy
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Cristina Neesham Markus Reihlen
Dennis Schoeneborn
Editors
Handbook of Philosophy
of Management
With14Figuresand23Tables
Editors
CristinaNeesham MarkusReihlen
NewcastleUniversityBusinessSchool SchoolofManagementandTechnology
NewcastleUniversity InstituteofManagementandOrganization
NewcastleuponTyne,UK LeuphanaUniversityofLüneburg
Lüneburg,Germany
DennisSchoeneborn
DepartmentofManagement,Societyand
Communication(MSC)
CopenhagenBusinessSchool
Frederiksberg,Denmark
SchoolofManagementandTechnology
InstituteofManagementandOrganization
LeuphanaUniversityofLüneburg
Lüneburg,Germany
ISSN2524-4361 ISSN2524-437X(electronic)
HandbooksinPhilosophy
ISBN978-3-030-76605-4 ISBN978-3-030-76606-1(eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76606-1
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Endorsements
“Thishandbookillustrateswhyphilosophyisthequeenofthesciencesbypresenting
theinsightsfromethics,aesthetics,epistemology,andphilosophersfromConfucius
toKantintothetheoryandpracticeofmanagement.”ProfessorJoanneB.Ciulla,
Director–InstituteforEthicalLeadership,RutgersUniversity.
“This is a great collection of people and topics that should make philosophy
relevanttoeverymanagementresearcher.Businessschoolsneedmorephilosophical
andhumanitiesthinkingiftheyaretostayrelevantinthe21stCentury.”R.Edward
Freeman,UniversityProfessor,UniversityofVirginia.
“As theglobal powers and impacts of managers continue to grow,this essential
internationalcollectiondemonstrateshowphilosopherscanmakeauniqueandvital
contribution to management. It offers a wide-ranging and rich set of models of
engagementfromwhichresearchersandteacherscanlearnandmanagersbenefitin
practice.”NigelLaurie,FoundingEditor,PhilosophyofManagementJournal.
“Timely, exciting, illuminating! – This is an essential collection of insights and
ideas on the philosophy of management.” Andreas Georg Scherer, Professor of
BusinessAdministration,UniversityofZurich.
“This first comprehensive handbook is an indispensable guide to philosophy of
management as a discipline. Prominent scholars from multiple countries provide
systematic coverage of epistemology, philosophy of science, aesthetics, social and
political philosophy, moral philosophy, and management practice and education.”
DuaneWindsor,LynetteS.AutreyProfessorofManagement,RiceUniversity.
v
Preface
The Handbook of Philosophy of Management originated from conversations
between Mark Dibben, Rob Macklin, Cristina Neesham, and Steven Segal, on a
sunny Tasmanian afternoon in 2015. The original idea was to put together the
primarymeanswehaveforcopinginandwithourorganizedlives,i.e.,management,
usingthatultimateproviderofmodesofthoughtthatshapeourmeansofcoping,i.e.,
philosophy.Theprinciplesofphilosophyofmanagementasreasoninpracticewere
discussedthen:philosophyaspracticeisthatactivitywhichcanenablemanagement
to move beyond its state of crisis and disclose new worlds and ways of managing,
and managers ought to be practising philosophers so that they can truly think and
shape–asopposedto,perhapssomewhatunknowingly,reactandconform.
The Handbook, therefore, addresses the philosophical foundations of manage-
ment in theory and practice and provides a meta-framework for moving beyond
paradigmfragmentationwithinmanagementresearchandeducation.Thisextensive
work,consideredacrossthespanof58chapters,allowsresearchersandpractitioners
tofindharmonyinthecontrastsrevealedbymultiplephilosophicallensesappliedto
management.Themeta-reflectionsincludedhereareintentionallystructuredaround
establishedbranchesofphilosophy,eachhavingtheirownimplicationsformanage-
ment. Just as those original Tasmanian conversations predicted, allowing the phi-
losophyexplicitlytotaketheleaddoesindeedopenverydifferentpossibilities,not
envisagedthroughtheapplicationofthesocialsciencesalone.
Asthewidearrayoftopicsandissuesaddressedheresketchthecontoursofthe
field, this work creates a forum where philosophy can meaningfully be applied to
the study of management in all its forms. It also sets the terms of reference for the
philosophy of management as a discipline in its own right and encourages both
managersandresearcherstodevelopthedisciplineofthinkingfromapractitioner’s
pointofview.
The project has been a long but above all extraordinary journey with many
enthusiasticcontributors,someofwhomarenowretired.Whileweareindebtedto
manymorethanwecanpossiblymentionhere,wewouldliketogivespecialthanks
tooursectioneditors,AlejandroAgafonow,MarianEabrasu,StevenSegal,andWim
Vandekerckhove, who have put together their sections with much effort, compe-
tence, and foresight for topics and authors. We are equally thankful to all chapter
authors, and to all reviewers, for their commitment to ensuring that the Handbook
vii
viii Preface
becomes an essential scholarly source for the field. We also acknowledge the
valuable inputs of Mark Dibben and Steven Segal, who (as past co-editors-in-
chief)developedtheoriginalideaoftheHandbookandhelpedittotakeoff,together
withpastsectioneditorsVincentBlok,PaulGriseri,NigelLaurie,RobMacklin,and
FritsSchipper.Furthermore,ourgratitudegoestoSpringerformakingthispublica-
tionpossible.
Asafinalnote,thesecond(Markus)andthirdeditor(Dennis)wouldliketothank
Cristinaforinvitingusatalaterstagetojointhisphilosophicalventureaseditors-in-
chief. The success of the project, of the very idea of it, can be measured in the
remarkable expansion of topics covered; we came on board to help share the load
that success brought with it. Nonetheless, we want to note Cristina is not only the
firsteditorbyalphabeticalorderingbutalsobyshoulderingthegreaterweight.
Wehopethattheconnectionsmadebetweenphilosophyandmanagementinthis
book will open new directions of inquiry into how reason in practice can assist
humankindincreatingitsownbetterfuture.
NewcastleuponTyne,UK CristinaNeesham
Lüneburg,Germany MarkusReihlen
Frederiksberg,Denmark DennisSchoeneborn
November2022 Editors
Contents
1 IntroductiontoPhilosophyofManagement .................. 1
CristinaNeesham,MarkusReihlen,andDennisSchoeneborn
PartI EpistemologyofManagement ......................... 15
2 TheEpistemologyofManagement:AnIntroduction ........... 17
MarkusReihlenandDennisSchoeneborn
3 Evidence-BasedManagement ............................. 39
MonaMensmann,DeniseM.Rousseau,andMichaelFrese
4 RealistInquiry ........................................ 55
MarkusReihlen,StefanieHabersang,andNataliaNikolova
5 InterpretiveInquiry .................................... 79
BlagoyBlagoevandJanaCostas
6 APosthumanistEpistemologyofPractice ................... 99
SilviaGherardi
7 CriticalInquiry ........................................ 121
DanKärreman
8 FictionalInquiry ....................................... 139
DennisSchoenebornandJoepCornelissen
9 ThePerformativityofTheories ............................ 159
Jean-PascalGondandGuillaumeCarton
10 ProblematizingtheRelationBetweenManagement
ResearchandPractice ................................... 183
BenjaminGrossmann-HenselandDavidSeidl
ix
x Contents
PartII PhilosophyofScienceforManagementTheoryand
Practice ................................................. 203
11 PhilosophyofScienceforManagementTheory,Practice,
andSci-fiFreaks:AnIntroduction ......................... 205
AlejandroAgafonow
12 RevivingMethodsofSpeculativePhilosophy ................. 219
ArranGareandCristinaNeesham
13 ManagementResearchandPractices:Philosophiesand
Logics ............................................... 235
NormanBlaikieandJanPriest
14 DiscoveriesintheScienceofOrganizationalEconomics ........ 265
AlejandroAgafonowandMarybelPerez
15 NoOrganizationsforToday’sEinsteins ..................... 287
AlejandroAgafonowandMarybelPerez
16 TheHarmfulDysfunctionAnalysisofMentalDisorder:
ImplicationsfortheSocialSciencesandManagementPractice ... 309
JeromeC.WakefieldandJordanA.Conrad
17 ComplexityandManagement:EpistemicInsightsfromtheLife
Sciences .............................................. 333
MartaBertolaso
PartIII AestheticsofManagement ......................... 355
18 AestheticsofManagement:AnIntroduction ................. 357
WimVandekerckhove
19 AestheticKnowing,“Designerly”ThinkingandScenario
Analysis .............................................. 369
GeorgeCairns
20 Aesthetics,Management,andtheOrganizationofSpace ........ 389
JonathanVickery
21 ASmileandaSigh:LeadershipInsightsfromtheEast ......... 413
RalphJ.BathurstandMichelleSitongChen
22 TheRoleofAestheticsinEthicalAction .................... 431
DonnaLadkin
23 ARancièrianMethodofExploringNotionsofManagement
andOrganizationThroughtheArtisticGaze ................. 447
WimVandekerckhoveandMyrtleEmmanuel