Joseph O'Mahoney

Commodifying the Commodifiers: The Impact of Procurement on Management Knowledge

Current conceptualizations of the commodification of management knowledge prioritize the agency of knowledge producers, such as consultancies, but downplay the role of other actors such as intermediaries. Using a qualitative multi-method study of the role of procurement in sourcing consultancy knowledge, we demonstrate how intermediaries also commodify management knowledge, thereby limiting the exchange value of that knowledge. Through our analysis we develop a more sophisticated model of the processes and consequences of knowledge commodification. This model clarifies and extends prior research by highlighting the role of commensuration, comparison and valuation, as well as the related tactics that consultants and client managers use to resist procurements attempts to commodify management knowledge.

The role of management consultancy in implementing operations management in the public sector

Purpose - This paper reflects on the growing trend of engaging management consultancies in implementing operations management innovations in the public sector. Whilst the differences between public and private sector operations have been documented, there is a dearth of material detailing the impact of public sector engagements on the consultancies themselves and the operations management products and services they develop. Drawing on qualitative data the paper seeks to identify both the impact of operations management in the public sector and, the impact this engagement on the consultancies that are involved. Design/methodology/approach - This paper draws on rich, qualitative data from six large management consultancies, amounting to over 48 interviews. An inductive methodology sought to identify both how consultancies have adapted their operations management products and services, and why. Findings - The paper finds that the different context of the public sector provides consultants with considerable challenges when implementing operations management projects. The research shows that public services are often hampered by different cultures, structures, and managerial knowledge and investment patterns. Such constraints have an impact on both the projects being implemented and the relationship between consultants and clients. Originality/value - There are few studies that consider the implementation of operations management in the public sector and fewer still which examine the impact of public sector engagement on the products that consultancies develop. This paper aims to develop understanding in both. At a more theoretical level, the paper contributes to considering operations management through knowledge management literature in seeking to understand how consumers of management knowledge influence its producers.

Critical realism and the self

Abstract This piece outlines the opportunities and obstacles to the application of critical realism to the study of the self. Based on a recent seminar on the subject, the paper discusses a number of diverse approaches to the application of critical realism to selfhood, identity and psychology. It is argued that for the social sciences, the political dangers of essentialism in studying the self require clear explication of how critical realist approaches do not necessarily lead to reductionism or determinism.

Bricolage and Identity Work

Levi-Strauss’ concept of bricolage has been used widely in a variety of management and organizational studies to highlight creative ‘situational tinkering’. Yet, we know little about ‘the bricoleur’ beyond the assumption of a functional agent responding to conditions of resource scarcity or environmental complexity. As such, studies offer limited possibilities in explaining the occurrence of bricolage in the absence of external demands, or much about who the bricoleur is. Drawing on 136 in-depth interviews with management consultants, this study argues for a richer understanding of bricolage by exploring the identity of the bricoleur. In doing so, the paper achieves three outcomes. First, it uses the original symbolic and cultural insights of bricolage made by Levi-Strauss to detail how bricoleur identities are constructed; Second, it highlights how different organizational strategies enable and constrain the pursuit of bricoleur identities; Finally, it emphasizes the bricoleurs status as primarily an aspirational elite identity in the context of consultancy work, in contrast to its usual treatment as a ‘low status’ activity.

Machine Tooling in the United Kingdom

This chapter examines the decline of the machine-tool industry in the UK. This decline is partially attributed to globalization and the British tradition of a low-cost strategy, short-term investment patterns, and general neglect of manufacturing. It argues that the institutions that can support industrial networks remain weak, despite evidence to the contrary.

Realist studies of oppression, emancipation and resistance

This article introduces two papers in a special section of this journal. It explains why realist studies of oppression, emancipation and resistance are needed. We trace the development of studies in this area, noting their Marxist roots, divergence with post-structural theorising and more recent critical realist advancements. We conclude by highlighting the weaknesses in studies of this area and by arguing that progress is important for understanding how emancipation from oppression might be possible.

Explaining National Variation in the Use of Management Consulting Knowledge: A Framework

The management literature frequently assumes that management consultancy is the predominant source of external management knowledge for organisations. However, its use is invariably confined to a few Western, developed economies. Such variation is rarely acknowledged, let alone explained. In this conceptual article, we draw on diverse literatures to explore what drives national variations in consulting usage. To achieve this, we develop a basic framework of influencing factors and briefly apply it to the Japanese context. We conclude by explicating how our analysis has a wider application with respect to other knowledge sources in comparative studies.

Introduction: de/humanisation and critical realism

This short paper introduces the special issue of the Journal of Critical Realism on de/humanisation and critical realism. It discusses the significance of studying contemporary processes of dehumanisation as well as attempts to reorganise groups, organisations and societies. It provides a sketchy summary of the contributions to the special issue by Douglas Porpora, Peter Kahn, LAkshman Vimalasena, Hans Despain, Harvey Shoolmann and Alan Norrie.

Muddling with CMS: A Reply

We thank Hugh Willmott for his considered response and would, in the spirit of open debate, like to address some of his concerns regarding our review of Willmott and Alvesson (2003). While we accept that Studying Management Critically makes no specifically exclusive commitment to Critical Theory, the great majority of the text is undeniably rooted in this perspective. Indeed, of the nine substantive chapters (2–10 inclusive), chapters 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are listed in the introduction (p. 5–7) as based upon Critical Theory either exclusively, or used in conjunction with the authors’ own orientations. While we accept that it is ‘spectacularly obtuse’ (Willmott 2005) to expect contributors to advance a single philosophical standpoint, this is surely presupposed via the insistence by the editors that ‘critical studies of management proceed from a “non-objectivist” understanding of ontology and epistemology’ (p. 16). Unfortunately, terminology like this is not only confusing, it is also incorrect, we believe, in two senses: first, some phenomena are ‘objective’ (in various senses) and, therefore, require an ontology that reflects this; and second, much genuinely critical theory would not accept this meta-theoretical standpoint (cf. Ackroyd 2004). It seems rather strange, then, to restrict critical management writing to this particular meta-theoretical standpoint — and incidentally, one supported by much Critical Theory. CMS may well be a broad church but what is presented here is a rather narrow account of its doctrine. Hugh Willmott objects to our description of Studying Management Critically as ‘reworked’. In fact we describe unpublished material as ‘original publications’, duplicated work as ‘reprinted’, and work based on already published material, yet updated, as ‘reworked’. We stand by this understanding because it is factually correct. It is also the case that the original orientation of the first edition is not much changed by the second. The central and defining characteristics of Critical Management Studies, regarding such things as the supposed research agenda of the subject area as a whole and the tone of the work included, are reproduced wholly in Studying Management Critically. References