Ontology in organization and management studies: A critical realist perspective

Fleetwood, Steve

Abstract

Organization studies has recently been captured by a cultural, linguistic, poststructural or postmodern turn, the impetus for which has come from the ontological turn from a (naive) realist ontology to a socially constructed ontology. Much of the current ontological discussion is, however, characterized by ambiguity, which makes it difficult to get to the bottom of ontological claims and, of course, to locate the source of any ontological errors. This paper uses a critical realist perspective to highlight the ambiguity and error encouraged by postmodernism's commitment to a socially constructed ontology. Critical realism's ontology is offered as a more fruitful alternative. Labour process theory, specifically agency and structure, is used to demonstrate (i) that critical realism is not damaged by many common postmodern criticisms of agency and structure, and (ii) that, once interpreted through the prism of critical realism, there is no need to abandon this powerful analytical device. Copyright © 2005 SAGE.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2005
• Deposit Date: Jan 22, 2010
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 27, 2016
• Journal: Organization
• Print ISSN: 1350-5084
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-7323
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 197-222
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508405051188
• Keywords: management studies, organisation studies, critical realist, critical realism, epistemology, methodology, ontology, organization studies, postmodernism, poststructuralism
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1050907
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1350508405051188
• Contract Date: Apr 27, 2016