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Knowledge and Power Across the Material-Discursive Practice of Agential Realism

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Managing Knowledge in Organizations

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Abstract

In this chapter, power and knowledge are examined across the lens of agential realism. Agential realism allows us to recognize the entangled and dynamic nature of reality as a phenomenon—beginning with the entwined or uncategorized nature of mètis, which in turn is imbricated and constitutive (while also being constituted) of power. It is also a framework which allows us to recognize the importance of categories as temporary ‘snapshots’ or states of affairs. We first explain what agential realism is, along with terms such as ‘intra-actions’, ‘cuts’, ‘entanglement’, ‘phenomena’, and ‘material-discursive’ practice. We also show its affinities with holistic pragmatism. We then briefly compare it to critical realism, an approach which often underpins the development of information systems (IS) systems thinking. We then propose an agential realist framework in regards to both knowledge and power. Finally, we show how such an approach, on the one hand, allows us to better comprehend the complex and dynamic entanglements between knowledge and power within organizations. On the other hand, it also reminds us to be mindful as both practitioners and researchers in regards to potential organizational barriers thwarting the development of both mètis and more democratic socio-material processes of knowledge production and usage.

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  1. University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    W. David Holford

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Holford, W.D. (2020). Knowledge and Power Across the Material-Discursive Practice of Agential Realism. In: Managing Knowledge in Organizations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41156-5_7

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