Researching Strategy Practices: A Genealogical Social Theory Perspective

Rasche, Andreas; Chia, Robert

doi:10.1177/0170840609104809

Cited by 184 publications

(128 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Early representations of strategy as practice were criticized as being superficial, extending in only marginal ways mainstream positivist views of strategy (Chia & MacKay, 2007;Carter, Clegg, & Kornberger, 2008). Whittington's (2006) development of the praxis, practice and practitioners framework enriched the ideas, as did the work of others who linked strategy as practice to structuration theory (Jarzabkowski, 2004) or to different strands of practice theory (Rasche & Chia, 2009). This paper instead elaborates on the implications of taking a 'narrative turn,' building on and integrating the previous contributions of Barry and Elmes (1997), Whittington (2006) and others cited above.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Strategy as Practice and the Narrative Turn

Fenton

Langley

2011

Organization Studies

283

271

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This paper argues that organizational communication research, and in particular a perspective that focuses on narrative, can contribute in important ways to understanding the practices of strategy. Narrative is believed to be critical to sensemaking in organizations, and multiple levels and forms of narrative are inherent to strategic practices. For example, narrative can be found in the micro-stories told by managers and others as they interact and go about their daily work, in the formalized techniques for strategy-making whether or not the techniques are explicitly story-based, in the accounts people give of their work as strategy practitioners, and in the artefacts produced by strategizing activity. After exploring applications of narrative approaches to strategy praxis, practices, practitioners and text, we review two concepts that might serve to integrate micro and macro levels of analysis. Overall, narrative is seen as a way of giving meaning to the practice that emerges from sensemaking activities, of constituting an overall sense of direction or purpose, of refocusing organizational identity, and of enabling and constraining the ongoing activities of actors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Strategy as Practice and the Narrative Turn

Fenton

Langley

2011

Organization Studies

283

271

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“…The 'visual turn' within organisation studies (Davison et al, 2012;Meyer, Höllerer, Jancsary, & van Leeuwen, 2013) provides new methodologies required by the accompanying 'practice turn' which seeks to explore organisational processes, including CSR (Rasche, de Bakker & Moon, 2013), as they unfold (Rasche & Chia, 2009). Organisations are sites of visible, everyday practice, e.g.…”

Section: Applying the Visual To Business And Society Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging Fringe Stakeholders in Business and Society Research: Applying Visual Participatory Research Methods

McCarthy

Muthuri

2016

Business & Society

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Business and society (B&S) researchers, as well as practitioners, have been critiqued for ignoring those with less voice and power (e.g. women, non-literate or indigenous peoples) often referred to as 'fringe stakeholders'. Existing methods used in B&S research often fail to address issues of meaningful participation, voice and power, especially in developing countries. In this article we stress the utility of visual participatory research (VPR) methods in B&S research to fill this gap. Through a case study on engaging Ghanaian cocoa farmers on gender inequality issues we explore how VPR methods may be used by researchers to achieve more inclusive, and thus more credible, stakeholder research that can improve decision-making within businesses.Furthermore, we argue that ingrained social and environmental problems tackled by B&S research and the unique context in which they occur may open up new opportunities to develop participatory visual methods for social change.

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“…Thus, service nepotism as a practice not only provides the context for activities; it also serves as the context in which arrangements exist for the transformation of the social. Schatzki (2001: 49), in accounting for this, refers to mental phenomena such as desires, hopes, fear and anxiety as fundamental "states of affairs" that enable actors to 'cope' with their involvement with the world (Heidegger, 1977;Rasche and Chia, 2009). Expressed in behaviour, we argue that such phenomena inform and drive service nepotism in multi-ethnic marketplaces by extending understanding and determining the actions of people during service encounters.…”

Section: A Practice Approach To Service Nepotismmentioning

confidence: 93%

Service nepotism in the multi-ethnic marketplace: mentalities and motivations

Sarpong

Maclean

2015

International Marketing Review

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the multi-ethnic marketplace as the site of the emergence of service nepotism: the practice where employees bestow relational benefits and/or gifts on customers on the basis that they share a perceived common socio-collective identity. The authors draw on the contemporary turn to practice in social theory to explore why ethnic employees may engage in service nepotism even when they are aware that it contravenes organizational policy. Design/methodology/approach -Given the paucity of empirical research which investigates the multi-ethnic marketplace as a locus for the emergence of service nepotism, the authors adopted an exploratory qualitative research approach to advance insight into service nepotism. The study benefits from its empirical focus on West African migrants in the UK who represent a distinct minority group living in urban areas of the developed world. Data for the study were collected over a six-month period, utilizing semi-structured interviews as the primary method of data collection. Findings -The research highlights the occurrence and complexities of service nepotism in the multi-ethnic marketplace, and identifies four distinct activities (marginal revolution, reciprocal altruism, pandering for recognition, and horizontal comradeship), that motivate ethnic employees to engage in service nepotism, despite their awareness that this conflicts with organizational policy. Research limitations/implications -By virtue of the chosen theoretical lens, the authors were unable to demonstrate how service nepotism could be observed outside spoken language. Also, care should be taken in generalizing the findings from this study given the particularities of the sub-group involved. For example, since the study is based on a small sample of first generation migrants, the findings may not hold true for their offspring, whose socialization and marketplace experiences may be qualitatively different from those of their parents. Practical implications -Service nepotism challenges fundamental western egalitarian ideals in the multi-ethnic marketplace. Organizations may wish to develop strategies to placate observers' concerns of creeping favouritism in a supposedly equitable marketplace. The research could also serve as a starting point for managers objectively to assess the likely impact of service nepotism on the organizing value systems and competitiveness. In particular, the authors suggest that international marketing managers would do well to look beneath the surface to see what is really going on in international marketplaces, since ostensible experiences of marketplace consumption may not always reflect underlying reality. Originality/value -By using service nepotism as an analytical category to explore the marketplace experiences of ethnic service employees living and working in industrialized societies, the research shows that the practice of service nepotism, whilst taken for granted, can have far-reaching impact on individuals, observers, and service organi...

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Researching Strategy Practices: A Genealogical Social Theory Perspective

Cited by 184 publications

References 67 publications

Strategy as Practice and the Narrative Turn

Strategy as Practice and the Narrative Turn

Engaging Fringe Stakeholders in Business and Society Research: Applying Visual Participatory Research Methods

Service nepotism in the multi-ethnic marketplace: mentalities and motivations

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