Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Critical Management Studies : A Critical Review

Spicer, André and Alvesson, Mats LU (2024) In Journal of Management Studies
Abstract

In this paper, we review the development of critical management studies, point at problems and explore possible developments. We begin by tracing out two previous waves of critical management studies. We then focus on more recent work in critical management studies and identify ten over-arching themes (Academia, alternatives organizations, control and resistance, discourse, Foucauldian studies, gender, identity, Marxism, post-colonialism, and psychoanalysis). We argue that CMS has largely relied on one-dimensional critique which focused on negation. This has made the field increasingly stale, focused on the usual suspects and predictable. We identify a number of problems calling for critique and rethinking. We label these... (More)

In this paper, we review the development of critical management studies, point at problems and explore possible developments. We begin by tracing out two previous waves of critical management studies. We then focus on more recent work in critical management studies and identify ten over-arching themes (Academia, alternatives organizations, control and resistance, discourse, Foucauldian studies, gender, identity, Marxism, post-colonialism, and psychoanalysis). We argue that CMS has largely relied on one-dimensional critique which focused on negation. This has made the field increasingly stale, focused on the usual suspects and predictable. We identify a number of problems calling for critique and rethinking. We label these author-itarianism, obscurantism, formulaic radicalism, usual-suspectism and empirical light-touchism.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
critical management studies, critique, review
in
Journal of Management Studies
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85186392151
ISSN
0022-2380
DOI
10.1111/joms.13047
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
24e06261-a3da-4629-bcd3-1f223d4384cc
date added to LUP
2024-03-26 12:14:30
date last changed
2024-03-26 12:15:11
@article{24e06261-a3da-4629-bcd3-1f223d4384cc,
  abstract     = {{<p>In this paper, we review the development of critical management studies, point at problems and explore possible developments. We begin by tracing out two previous waves of critical management studies. We then focus on more recent work in critical management studies and identify ten over-arching themes (Academia, alternatives organizations, control and resistance, discourse, Foucauldian studies, gender, identity, Marxism, post-colonialism, and psychoanalysis). We argue that CMS has largely relied on one-dimensional critique which focused on negation. This has made the field increasingly stale, focused on the usual suspects and predictable. We identify a number of problems calling for critique and rethinking. We label these author-itarianism, obscurantism, formulaic radicalism, usual-suspectism and empirical light-touchism.</p>}},
  author       = {{Spicer, André and Alvesson, Mats}},
  issn         = {{0022-2380}},
  keywords     = {{critical management studies; critique; review}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Journal of Management Studies}},
  title        = {{Critical Management Studies : A Critical Review}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joms.13047}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/joms.13047}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}