History in Management and Organization Studies: From Margin to Mainstream

Description

There has, in recent times, been an increasing interest in history, broadly defined, among management scholars. But what specifically a historical approach or perspective can contribute to research on organizational fields, organizations, strategy etc. and how exactly such historical research should be carried out remain questions that have been answered only partially, if at all. Building on the authors’ prior and ongoing work, History in Management and Organization Studies: From Margins to Mainstream is unique in presenting a comprehensive and integrated view of how history has informed management research with a focus on organization theory and strategy. More specifically, the volume provides an overview of how the relationship been history and management scholarship has evolved from the 19th century until today, focusing mainly on the post-World War II period; and systematically surveys the kind of research programs within organization theory and strategy that have used historical data and/or history as a theoretical construct, while also identifying the remaining "blind spots". As a whole, it offers a kind of roadmap for management scholars and historians to situate their research and, hopefully, find new roads for others to travel. The book is intended for anybody conducting or planning to conduct historical research within management and organization studies, and aims, in particular, at becoming a standard feature of research methods courses in business schools and departments of management. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1 Objective: Finding History in Management Research Introduction Let’s Look to the Past: History Is Back, or Was It Ever Gone? Like Hot Cakes: The Recent Popularity of History Who Cares? Little Regard for Histories of Managers and Management Crazy About History? Management and Organization Studies Separated in the Past, Rejoined in the Present? Who Kicked History Out: “Science” or Sociology? Can the Twain Ever Meet Again? Let’s Have Another Look: History Is Already There, Kind of As Stated Before: More Than Meets the Eye Haven’t We Seen This Movie Already? Opening the Package. . . . . . And Displaying Its Contents PART I 2 Origins: History and Management Becoming “Sciences” Introduction Always There: The Ever-Present Hand of History Early and Everywhere: Origins of Written Histories Around the Globe Scientizing History and Historicizing Everything: The Rankean “Revolution” Beyond a Single Truth: Multiplying the “Houses of History” A Bumpy Road: Developing Business and Then Management Into a “Science” Late, Diverse and Difficult: The Origins of “Business” Schools Thirsting for Legitimacy: Early Claims to “Science” Getting There—And Globally: Turning Management Into a “True” Science Conclusion 3 Aspirations: Bringing History and Management Studies (Back) Together Introduction Anybody Out There? Contacts Between Historical and Business and Management Research Roads to Nowhere: Missed Opportunities Lonely Hearts: Business Historians and “New Look” Management Studies Unrequited Love: Management Indifference From the 1960s Through the 1980s Feeling Nostalgic: Growing Calls for “More History” Since the 1990s Whole Lotta Love: Increasing Diversity as History Attracts Greater Attention Turning Where? Business History, History or Postmodern History Turning How? Searching for Some Form of “Synthesis” Above and Beyond: Extending the Historic Turn in Organization Studies to Other Domains Conclusion 4 Evidence: Identifying History in Top Management Journals Introduction Needle in a Haystack? History in the Management and Organization Studies Literature Previous Surveys and Their Limitations Objectives and Scope of the Present Survey And Then There Were Two . . . Types of Studies With a Historical Dimension Two Souls: History and Theory in Management and Organizational Research Backing It All Up: History as Evidence and a Source of Data In the Driving Seat: History as Part of Theoretical Models Putting It All Together: A Framework for Combining History and Theory PART II 5 Beginnings: Early Writings on Management History Introduction When It All Began: Early Histories of Management Ideas Matter: The Transition Toward Histories of Management Thought Setting the Stage: Initial Exemplary Works Making It Count: Histories for Practitioners by Consultants and Managers Staying in the Shadows: Limited Contributions by Academics Enter “Theory”, Kind of: Going Beyond Management History Conclusion 6 Orthodoxy: Establishing and Defending Classic Management History Introduction Claiming a Place in the Mainstream Bringing It All Together: Publication of the First Textbooks Progressing . . . a Bit: Further, Albeit Limited Expansion of the Literature Drifting to the Margins: The Effect of “Scientization” on Management History Closing Doors: Reduced Publication Opportunities in Mainstream Management Journals Doubling Down: The “Classic” View Persists Still Focusing on Individuals: From “Pioneers” to “Innovators” and Back Conclusion 7 Alternatives: Emergence and Expansion of Critical Views Introduction ‘Twas All Rather Different: Revisionist Histories False Starts: Labor Process Theory and Critical Management Studies Talk Matters: Theorizing the Evolution of Management Discourses and Models . . . And So Does Context: “Politicizing” the History of Management Thought in the US ‘Twas the Total Opposite, Actually: Counter-Histories Cue in Foucault: Archaeologies and Genealogies Cue in Latour: ANTi-History Other Worlds: Expanding the Critical Perspective Geographically Moving Beyond the US: Comparative and Diffusion Studies Better to Be Different? Institutionalizing a Critical and International Perspective Conclusion PART III 8 History to Theory: Institutional Theories and Process Studies Introduction Which Way? Two Institutionalisms on Different Paths From History to Theory How It All Started: Institutionalism From the TVA to a Theory of “Organizational Character” Bring in the New: Developing Neo-Institutional Theory Here Come the Dynamos: Institutional Entrepreneurship and Institutional Work Holding It All Together—In a Dynamic Way: Institutional Logics What’s Going On? Unrealized Potential in Process Studies of Organizations and Strategy Looking Inside: Process Organization Studies Inside Looking Out: Strategy-Making Conclusion 9 History to Theory: Organizational Ecology, Economics, Resource Dependence Introduction Who Wants to Live Forever: Organizational Ecology The More, the Merrier—Up to a Point: Density Dependence Scale or Scope? Resource Partitioning and Community Ecology That Rare Beast: Qualitative Studies And the Twain Did Meet: Organizational Ecology and Institutions Where You Belong: Categories and Categorization Not Much There: History and Organizational Economics Nor Here: Resource Dependence Conclusion 10 History in Theory: Imprinting and Path Dependence Introduction History Leaving a Lasting Presence: Imprinting Its Own Past: Origins and Early Studies People Matter: Founder Characteristics and Organizations Context Matters: Initial Institutional and Economic Environments of Organizations The Past Really Matters: History, Institutional Logics and Organizations Local Matters: Community-Level Imprinting and Institutional Legacies Staying on Track: Path Dependence How It All Started: Origins and Definitions How It Works in Practice: Organizational Path Dependence Parallels and Crossings: Path Dependence in Institutional Persistence and Change Conclusion 11 History in Theory: Ecology, Strategy, Co-evolution Introduction Origins Matter Here, Too: Organizational Ecology What Starts Well. . . : Founding Conditions and the Density Delay Model When Things Get Sticky: Structural Inertia and History Dependence The Ever-Present Past: Population History and History of Competition It Stays in the Family: Parents and Progenies Survival Strategies: Resources, Routines and Dynamic Capabilities It Pays to Be Early: First Movers Managing the Past: History as a “Resource” Change Is Back: From Routines to Dynamic Capabilities A Way Out? Combining Imprinting and History Dependence in Co-evolution Conclusion 12 Not a Conclusion: Multiple Ways Forward Introduction Main Findings in Brief—Very Brief No Hope in History—Well, Maybe a Little History in the Present: Uses of the Past Toward “Historical Cognizance”: Contextualized Theorizing Cognizant vs. Universalist: Big Business in the US From Comparisons to Cognizance: “Management” Goes Global Cognizance in the Mainstream: Institutional Logics and Beyond This Is the End . . . Not Really, Since There Is More to Come Index