Release | Theory as method: introduction to supertheoretical options for organization and management research

Abstract: This article is devoted to conditions and examples of how theories may be applied as methods in the fields of management research and organization studies. An introduction to minimum requirements for a successful refunctionalization of theory as method as well as to nine contributions to a special issue of the Journal of Organizational Change […]

Release | From play to pay: a multifunctional approach to the role of culture in post-merger integration

Abstract: The literature on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), cultural differences between organizations have frequently been identified as one of the main challenges in the process of post-merger integration (PMI). Existing research has explored a broad variety of cultural differences in perceptions, such as those relating to expectations, norms, values and beliefs within the respective organizations, […]

Release | The great reset of management and organization theory. A European perspective

Abstract: In mid-2020, the World Economic Forum (WEF) announced the Great Reset, an initiative launched to assert, describe, and shape the direction of an epochal transition brought about by the global coronavirus crisis. Rooted in a European tradition of social theory, this article aims to articulate the broader social context of this scenario and pinpoint […]

Veröffentlichung | Der Staat des multifunktionalen Liberalismus. Zu den Entscheidungsprämissen der nächsten politischen Ökologie

Zusammenfassung: Die Coronakrise schafft Momentum für notstandsstaatliche Massnahmen und Gruppenmoral. Man begründet Sonderrechte und überträgt das aktuelle Krisenmanagement gedanklich auf den Kampf gegen den Klimawandel. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser «neuen Normalität» skizziert der vorliegende Beitrag ein Staatsverständnis, das sich mehr als Rahmenkonzept von Staatlichkeit denn als Gegenmodell zum totalitären Notstandsstaat versteht. Dabei zeigt sich, dass dieser […]

CFP | Luhmann Conference 2021 | Risks and Pathologies. Observed with Social Systems Theory

Call for papers to the Luhmann Conference 2021 on “Risks and pathologies. Observed with social systems theory” Place: Inter-University Centre (IUC), Dubrovnik, Croatia Address: Don Frana Bulicá 4, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia Dates: 14-17 September 2021 Theme In the year 2020, the world was hit by an unprecedented and ongoing crisis in the form of a […]

Release | George Spencer Brown’s “Design with the NOR”: With Related Essays

A polymath and author of Laws of Form, George Spencer Brown, brought together mathematics, electronics, engineering and philosophy to form an unlikely bond. This book investigates Design with NOR, the title of the yet unpublished 1961 typescript by Spencer Brown. Available as e-book or for pre-order in print. Suggested citation: Roth S., Heidingsfelder M., Clausen […]

Release | Draw your organization! A solution-focused theory-method for business school challenges and change

Abstract: This article presents a solution-focused approach to current problems and criticisms faced by business schools. In order to facilitate the required shift from problems to solutions, I outline a theory-method and demonstrate how it has informed my teaching at FT-ranked business schools and other institutions of higher education in two subjects and on three continents. I […]

Preview | Chester Barnard’s systems-theoretic approach to organization theory: a reconstruction

Abstract: Chester Barnard’s organisation theory is widely acknowledged to be grounded on a systems-theoretic approach which has however remained largely inchoate. The present paper ventures a hypothetical reconstruction of this approach by identifying the salient parallels between Barnard’s thought and Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems as well as Alfred North Whitehead’s philosophy of organism. […]

Release | The Great Reset. Restratification for Lives, Livelihoods, and the Planet

Abstract: In reviewing the Great Reset, an initiative launched by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in response to the global coronavirus crisis, this perspective article considers the scenario of an epochal transition from capitalism to “restorism”. To facilitate the observation of underlying trends and assumptions, a systems-theoretical framework is developed for the observation of both […]