Sverre Spoelstra
Senior lecturer
Theory's best practice
Author
Summary, in English
Why is theorizing important? What does it do? This note reflects on the broad question of what we do when we theorize, taking its starting point from the Greek notion of theoria. The argument is that theorizing as an uncertain journey, i.e. as a form of travelling along a path towards the unknown or unfamiliar, has unjustly fallen into disrepute. The notion of ‘theory’ is today primarily associated with methodology and the ideas of a fixed path or a stable position. But this is not the only type of theory that critical organization studies needs. In this paper I consider how the notions of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ theory can help us understand the role of theorizing in organization. Theory’s best practice involves making us see and think differently, and this, in a sense, is as practical as it gets.
Department/s
- Organizational Studies
Publishing year
2021
Language
English
Publication/Series
Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization
Volume
21
Issue
4
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
www.ephemerajournal.org
Topic
- Business Administration
Keywords
- theory
- practice
- theoria
- seeing
- culture war
- climate change
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 2052-1499