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Conclusion: Management Theory in Crisis

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Abstract

The quest for management theory started in earnest at the dawn of the twentieth century. Its goal is to make management a reliable undertaking, leading to predictable results. Disagreement exists about the research framework best suited to this pursuit. However, except for postmodern authors, management researchers assume the existence of stable and causally effective structures underpinning organizational life. Such an existence implies a deterministic picture of human agency. Equivocations, ambiguities, tautologies, and imprecise language obfuscate this implication, hollowing out management theory of its performative quality. A century after its inception, the quest for management theory has failed. Other avenues for management scholarship exist.

This chapter has been in the main extracted from Joullié, J.-E. 2018. Management without theory for the twenty-first century, Journal of Management History, 24(4): 377–395.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gulf University for Science and Technology, Hawally, Kuwait

    Jean-Etienne Joullié

  2. Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

    Jean-Etienne Joullié

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  1. Jean-Etienne Joullié
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Correspondence to Jean-Etienne Joullié .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emporia State University, Emporia, USA

    Jeffrey Muldoon

  2. Faculté des Sciences Sociales, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

    Anthony Gould

  3. College of Business, RMIT University, School of Management, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Adela McMurray

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Joullié, JE. (2020). Conclusion: Management Theory in Crisis. In: Muldoon, J., Gould, A., McMurray, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Management History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62348-1_2-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62348-1_2-1

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