History in Management and Organization Studies: From Margin to Mainstream

✍ Scribed by Behlül Üsdiken, Matthias Kipping

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 327
• Series: Routledge Studies in Management, Organizations and Society
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

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 19^th 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.

✦ Table of Contents

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