Theory after the Postmodern Condition

In: Organization: the interdisciplinary journal of organization, theory and society, Band 10, Heft 3, S. 503-525

Abstract

In the context of an apparent crisis of grand narratives and continuing reference to the postmodern condition, this article considers aspects of the development of theory in organization studies over the past decade and offers some reflections on prospects for the future. These issues are presented via a reading of Jean-François Lyotard's The Postmodern Condition and the way that this book has been received in organization studies. This `paralogical' reading contests a number of widespread assumptions in organization studies about Lyotard and French theory, and provides the opening for a discussion of the future of theory in organization studies. This involves asking questions about (1) the consumption of theory in organization studies; (2) the concepts in currency in organization studies today; and (3) the shifting divisions of organization studies.