Historical Organization Studies

We are now entering a new phase in the establishment of historical organization studies as a distinctive methodological paradigm within the broad field of organization studies. This book serves both as a landmark in the development of the field and as a key reference tool for researchers and students. For two decades, organization theorists have emphasized the need for more and better research recognizing the importance of the past in shaping the present and future. By historicizing organizational research, the contexts and forces bearing upon organizations will be more fully recognized, and analyses of organizational dynamics improved. But how, precisely, might a traditionally empirically oriented discipline such as history be incorporated into a theoretically oriented discipline such as organization studies? This book evaluates the current state of play, advances it and identifies the possibilities the new emergent field offers for the future. In addition to providing an important work of reference on the subject for researchers, the book can be used to introduce management and organizational history to a student audience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The book is a valuable source for wider reading, providing rich reference material in tutorials across organizational studies, or as recommended or required reading on courses with a connection to business or management history. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

We are now entering a new phase in the establishment of historical organization studies as a distinctive methodological paradigm within the broad field of organization studies. This book serves both as a landmark in the development of the field and as a key reference tool for researchers and students. For two decades, organization theorists have emphasized the need for more and better research recognizing the importance of the past in shaping the present and future. By historicizing organizational research, the contexts and forces bearing upon organizations will be more fully recognized, and analyses of organizational dynamics improved. But how, precisely, might a traditionally empirically oriented discipline such as history be incorporated into a theoretically oriented discipline such as organization studies? This book evaluates the current state of play, advances it and identifies the possibilities the new emergent field offers for the future. In addition to providing an important work of reference on the subject for researchers, the book can be used to introduce management and organizational history to a student audience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The book is a valuable source for wider reading, providing rich reference material in tutorials across organizational studies, or as recommended or required reading on courses with a connection to business or management history.

This book brings together leading organization scholars and business historians to examine the opportunities and challenges of incorporating historical research into the study of firms and markets.

Management and organizational history has grown into an established field of research with competing and contrasting approaches and methods that are relevant for management and organization studies. This short-form book provides readers with expert insights on intellectual interventions in management and organization history. The authors illuminate the central ideas, works, and theorists involved in forming the link between history, management, and organization studies, particularly focusing on the debates addressing the need for a 'historic turn' in management and organizational studies. With coverage of nascent schools of thought in management historiography, such as ANTi-History, revisionist history, counter-history, rhetorical history, the Copenhagen School, microhistory, critical realist histories, alongside existing modernist and post-modernist approaches, as well as postcolonial, decolonial, and feminist critiques, the book is essential reading for scholars and students learning or exploring the role of history in management and organization studies.

Describing the field, spanning individual, organisation, societal and cultural perspectives in a cross-disciplinary manner, this is the premier reference tool for students, lecturers, academics and practitioners to gather knowledge about a range of important topics from the perspective of organisation studies.

Time, temporality, and history are inherently important constructs in process organization studies, yet have struggled to move beyond limited conceptualizations in management theory. This volume draws together emerging strands of interest to adopt a more nuanced approach in understanding the temporal aspects of organizational processes.

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.

This book focuses on the discussion and analysis of theory and behavior in organizations in all industries and sectors worldwide. It analyzes the subject of business administration and highlights its evolution, which is closely linked to the frequent and far-reaching changes in the social, economic and technological settings in which it operates. By way of introduction, a historical outline shows how technological progress has sparked profound changes in the economic, social and technological context, making organizations constantly evolving structures. On this basis, the book addresses knowledge management and organizational theories that consider knowledge and training to be companies’ most important resources for facing the substantial challenges posed by the current international context. The book broadens readers’ understanding of the operating principles of business management and their awareness of the structure and implementation of various organizational models. As such, it will be of interest to scholars and professionals in the fields of strategic management and organizational behavior.