I.H.J. Sabelis

Discourse, practice, policy and organizing: some opening comments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the interplay between discourse, policy and practice in relation to aspects of organization and processes of organizing.Design/methodology/approach – Provides an introduction to the six contributions contained in this special issue and discusses how they relate to the core theme.Findings – Highlights the need for an approach which treats discourses, policies and practices as connected and mutually implicated, rather than discrete, phenomena.Originality/value – Presents an approach to discourse analysis which promotes an engagement with wider aspects of social activity.

The future revisited: an application of lessons learned from past futures – the socio‐cultural domain and innovation policy in The Netherlands

Purpose – This paper seeks to evaluate future studies in order to improve futures research.Design/methodology/approach – Case studies were researched.Findings – The current study of the future carried out by the Dutch Innovation Platform (responsible for innovation policy) resembles an old‐fashioned utopism whereas a study conducted in 1977 by the Dutch Council for Government Policy yields very interesting results.Research limitations/implications – Only two case studies have been researched.Practical implications – Lessons learned or the evaluation of former studies of the future can be very interesting and supportive but one must be aware that they are not golden rules for doing futures research in the future itself.Originality/value – Although futures researchers often look back at other studies of the future it remains an important activity in improving futures research.

Global speed: a time view on transnationality

One of the most challenging aspects of the current processes of globalization is the accelerating pace with which communication, technological information, people and goods are ‘spinning’ around the world. With the growth of our spatial scope to a global level, we have become used to acceleration in a highly competitive world, which results in a feeling of real‐time experience, or instantaneity. The ways in which we deal with acceleration are determined by a specific understanding of the relationship between time and organization: from a Western perspective, managerial practices are based on the ratio‐economic, and therefore limited, idea of clock time. From a transcultural perspective, however, other modes of time interfere with the rigidity and linearity of clock‐time‐based organization. Moreover, on a global level a more encompassing, holistic understanding of time can be important to analyse tensions and contradictions in current managerial practices. It therefore seems important to introduce a perspective of time plurality into debates on transnational organization. How does a view of time complexity affect the management of cohesion and loyalty in the current practices of managers who deal with transnational networks?One of the most challenging aspects of the current processes of globalization is the accelerating pace with which communication, technological information, people and goods are ‘spinning’ around the world. With the growth of our spatial scope to a global level, we have become used to acceleration in a highly competitive world, which results in a feeling of real‐time experience, or instantaneity. The ways in which we deal with acceleration are determined by a specific understanding of the relationship between time and organization: from a Western perspective, managerial practices are based on the ratio‐economic, and therefore limited, idea of clock time. From a transcultural perspective, however, other modes of time interfere with the rigidity and linearity of clock‐time‐based organization. Moreover, on a global level a more encompassing, holistic understanding of time can be important to analyse tensions and contradictions in current managerial practices. It therefore seems important to introduce a perspe...

Emerging scholars, developing perspectives, promising processes

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