Gabrielle Durepos

Actor-Network Theory, ANTi-History and critical organizational historiography

The article describes what we have come to call ANTi-History, which entails the development of actor-network theory (ANT) as a critical approach to organizational historiography. It proceeds through four sections: 1) a review of the call for critical organizational historiography to establish the need for ANTi-History; 2) an overview of ANT to identify its potential to contribute to critical organizational historiography; 3) a development of ANT insights into an ANTi-History, through engagement with cultural theory historiography, and the sociology of knowledge; and 4) an account of the potential contribution of ANTi-History to critical management studies.

Tales in the manufacture of knowledge: Writing a company history of Pan American World Airways

Abstract The strength of historical accounts of organizations has been their ability to present the development of a particular company or companies in an apparently seamless, linear and concrete fashion (Rowlinson 2004). Recent academic literature on the subject has approached popular and conventional manners of writing company histories with much skepticism, questioning the particular nature and privileged status of knowledge produced in such accounts. Specifically, it has been suggested that understanding the intent of central historical actors, as well as grounding cultural accounts of company histories in the circumstances of their production can aid in a more holistic and in some cases plural (Boje 1995) understanding of the content of the history (Gillespie 1991; Rowlinson 2004). This paper begins with a review of the current literature on company histories in which two commonly discussed perspectives are outlined and discussed.We first argue that missing from the current perspectives of crafting company histories is an understanding of how the socio-political context in which the company history is crafted comes to influence the actual story told or knowledge produced about the company history. Second, it is suggested that a use of Actor-Network Theory or ANT (Latour 1987) may provide some useful insights as to the socio-political process of writing company histories and the influence of these processes on the nature of knowledge produced. Due to the emphasis on performativity in ANT (Law 1992), the third section of this paper extends the first two sections empirically by drawing on materials from the Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) archive at the University of Miami’s Otto Richter Library.1 Through a presentation of the political process of writing a company history of Pan Am, ANT is used to show how the actors involved in crafting the company history negotiate and craft what is now a privileged and taken for granted ‘factual’ company history. Finally, it is proposed that the strength of our approach lies in a recasting of company histories as created and crafted through the negotiated ‘ordering’ (Law 1994) of story-tellers.

Theorizing the past: Realism, relativism, relationalism and the reassembly of Weber

Abstract This paper attempts to address the recent call for an historic turn in management and organization studies: that of how to do history and represent the past of the field. To this end, we begin by stressing the need to theorize the past. We develop and describe a concept that we term relationalism, which draws on the sociology of knowledge (SoK) as well as select facets of an approach that has been developed through an engagement with the SoK, that of actor-network theory. The paper offers a theoretical discussion of relationalism as a way of theorizing the past and the past-as-history as an alternative to realism and relativism. We seek an empirical demonstration of relationalism through exploring the wide dispersion and numerous linguistic translations of the work of a scholar who was instrumental in the development of the SoK, that of Max Weber. Relationalism calls for interrogating the politics of representing the past, tracing actors symmetrically and surfacing the past-as-history in its multiplicity. Telling the past relationally calls for an exploration of the tensions between different modes of knowing. To this end, we offer it as a moral alternative.

Re-visiting the historic turn 10 years later: current debates in management and organizational history – an introduction

Abstract The establishment of Management & Organizational History (MOH) emerged out of earlier calls for a ‘historic turn’ in Management and Organization Studies (MOS) and a (somewhat mooted) critique of existing approaches to the study of history in the field. While MOS was seen as universalist, presentist, and scientistic, attempts at historical analysis were seen by some, in the words of Alfred Kieser, as generally “myopic fact collecting without a method.” The inaugural editorial of Management & Organizational History went on to call for greater exploration of the different methodological (and philosophical) approaches to the study of history. Central to the first issue of MOH was a renewed call for a ‘historic turn.’ Ten years later, there is some question if the ‘historic turn’ has been fully realized or even adequately conceptualized. Nonetheless, a growing consensus around the need for a historical turn has arguably served to paper over some potentially significant differences and debates. In this special issue, we revisit the idea and progress of the notion of the historic turn in MOS through the eight contributing articles. We frame our discussion of the papers through a focus on the notion of the historic turn itself, the issue of critically rethinking MOS from an historical perspective, new turns and developments, MOH and contemporary thinking about the past and history, the performance of history, polyphonic constitutive historicism, fusions of methods and theoretical framing, and tales from the field.

Markets, organizations, institutions and national identity

Purpose – Through a case study of Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), this paper sets out to explore the roots of twentieth century globalization and the postcolonial nature of the trading relations involved.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on Foucaults broad notion of “the archive” a critical hermeneutics approach is used to examine a series of company‐produced texts, including minutes, travelogues, company narratives, annual reports, film, diaries, and published histories.Findings – The paper argues that Pan Am contributed to the “idea of Latin America” and, in the process contributed to practices of dependency that served the interests of the USA. Drawing on a case study of Pan Am, the paper further argues that multi‐national corporations help to establish the contours of international trade by influencing the very character and boundaries of the territories traded in, with troubling implications for the countries traded in.Research limitations/implications – As a detailed case study extension o...

Reassembling Weber to reveal the-past-as-history in Management and Organization Studies

The purpose of this article is to unravel the link between the past and history to reveal the importance and the problems of developing a historically informed critical management studies (Booth and Rowlinson, 2006; Kieser, 1994). Drawing on Munslow (2010), we focus on the relationship between ‘the past’ and ‘history’ as ‘ontologically dissonant’ (p. 3) to argue for an ‘epistemically skeptical,’ relational approach to critical organizational history. These arguments are explored through analysis of the ‘career’ of Max Weber in management and organization studies (MOS).

Theorizing the Past: Critical engagements

Like the ‘individual’, ‘the past’ is pervasive yet under-theorized in management and organizational studies (MOS) (Booth and Rowlinson 2006; Nord and Fox 1996). The idea of ‘the past’ is clearly embedded in a number of approaches and foci. The notion of organizational culture, for example, suggests a culmination of past factors that influence present behaviour; the theoretical character of ‘the past’ and its reconstruction, however, are rarely examined within studies of organizational culture (Rowlinson and Procter 1999). Similarly ‘the past’ is embedded in such concepts as ‘institutional field’ (Khurana 2007), ‘population ecology’ (Hannan and Freeman 1977), ‘labour process’ (Braverman 1974), ‘narratives’ (Brown et al. 2008), ‘tracking’ (Mintzberg and Rose 2003), ‘longitudinal study’ (Delios and Ensign 2000), ‘evolutionary analysis’ (Baum et al. 2004) and various other ways of talking about the past. Less obvious examples run the gamut from statistical analyses of preand post-test findings, through to management textbooks where considerable space is given over to the development of specific theories, such as motivation and leadership. More obvious examples can be found in dedicated ‘histories’ of management, organizations and business (Wren 2005). While the former tend to ignore the past as a theoretical issue or concern (except perhaps as a variable), the latter, including but not limited to mainstream

Guiding the Space Age from the ground up: Pan Am, Cold War and guided missiles

Abstract This article analyses the role of Pan American Airways (Pan Am) in the shaping of the ‘Space Age’.The study arises out of our interest in the role of the organization in the development of discourse (Foucault 1979).While much has been written on discourse (Phillips and Hardy 2002) there have been few applied studies, and they tend to focus on the reproduction of discourse (e.g.New Public Management) within organizations (Thomas and Davies 2004) rather than on the role of organizations in the production of discourses. Pan Am was studied because of its role in the development of the US space program; its prominence as a major international company; and the availability of an extensive archive of company materials. Using critical hermeneutics (Prasad and Mir 2002), discourse analysis (Phillips and Hardy 2002), and archaeo-genealogical historiography (Rowlinson 2004), we examined the implications for organizational management and the study of organizational and management history.We conclude that the study of organizations as sites of discourse production is a fruitful area for further research; drawing attention to the implications for change by revealing the importance not only of the ‘localized’ aspects of discourse but also the discursive character of analyses of ‘the past’.

Disseminating Drucker: Knowledge, tropes and the North American management textbook

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how Druckers work has been disseminated through the North American management textbook since 1940, and what this tells people about the wider issue of the social construction and dissemination of management knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a critical hermeneutic analysis of the presence and use of Drucker in over 500 management textbooks and the socio‐political context in which both Druckers work and North American textbooks were written. Findings – Paradoxically, while Druckers work was found to be the most‐referenced of any management writer in the textbooks studied, his theories – apart from discussions of “Management by objectives” and the “Knowledge economy” – were rarely discussed. It is argued that the referencing of Drucker served more to legitimize selected points made by textbook authors than to discuss and build on Druckers work. Explanation of the paradox is explored through the socio‐political contexts in which Drucker was writing, strongly suggesting that the North American textbook has developed a dominant scientivistic trope that construct business “knowledge” through the narrow lens of behavioural science. Originality/value – While much writing can be found on the influence of Drucker on the business world and his status as a management guru, little is found on Druckers body of work in the management textbook, which plays a key role in management education in North American business schools. The paper builds on recent management research on the role of socio‐political context in the shaping of management theory and knowledge, and makes a new contribution to ones understanding of the shaping and contours of management knowledge.

The Pan American Dream and the Myth of the Pioneer

After much negotiation with government officials, careful study of geographical terrain, and confirmation that sufficient aeronautical equipment could be secured, the newly formed Pan American Airways (PAA) was awarded its first US airmail contract and inaugurated its Key West to Havana flight. The procurement of this airmail contract marked the formation of a new airline. It was also the start of a flurry of activity that led to a series of aeronautical, technological, administrative and geographical developments spanning multiple eras. A spirit of pioneering emerged from the activities of early PAA aeronautical pioneers such as Juan Trippe (co-founder of PAA), Hugo Leuteritz (in charge of ground and radio communications), Andre Priester (head engineer) and Charles Lindbergh (aerial adventurer). So powerful was the spirit of pioneering among early PAA players that it eventually transcended the entire organization, providing justification for their activities of rapid expansion and growth.