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Telling Tales: Management Gurus' Narratives and the Construction of Managerial Identity

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  • Timothy Clark
  • Graeme Salaman

Abstract

This paper examines the reasons for the apparently powerful impact of management gurus' ideas (i.e. guru theory) on senior managers. An examination of the limited literature on management gurus and other related literatures suggests three explanations for the appeal of guru theory for senior managers. The first set of explanations relates to various features of management work which may heighten managers' receptivity to guru ideas. The second set focuses on the gurus themselves and emphasizes the form in which they are presented (i.e. public performances). The final set of explanations highlights the importance of the socioeconomic and cultural context within which guru theories emerge and become widely adopted. A number of criticisms of these explanations are offered: that they define the manager as passive, that the flow of ideas is one way (guru to manager), that they rely on an academic conception of knowledge. An alternative explanation of their success is outlined which suggests that their work – their analyses, presentations and theories – offer attractive conceptions of the role of managers which constitute the identity of the modern senior manager as an heroic, transformative leader. Gurus therefore not only constitute the organizational realities but also managers themselves

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  • Timothy Clark & Graeme Salaman, 1998. "Telling Tales: Management Gurus' Narratives and the Construction of Managerial Identity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 137-161, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:35:y:1998:i:2:p:137-161
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-6486.00088
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    1. Mazlan Maskor & Niklas K Steffens & Kim Peters & S Alexander Haslam, 2022. "Discovering the secrets of leadership success: Comparing commercial and academic preoccupations," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 47(1), pages 79-104, February.
    2. Heusinkveld, Stefan & Visscher, Klaasjan, 2012. "Practice what you preach: How consultants frame management concepts as enacted practice," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 285-297.
    3. Emilie Canet, 2013. "La fabrique des outils de gestion : quels régimes de conception ?," Post-Print hal-01068745, HAL.
    4. Stea, Diego & Foss, Nicolai J. & Christensen, Peter Holdt, 2015. "Physical separation in the workplace: Separation cues, separation awareness, and employee motivation," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 462-471.
    5. Emilie Canet, 2012. "De l'invention à la diffusion : La poursuite de la construction d'une innovation managériale," Post-Print halshs-00867972, HAL.
    6. Emilie Canet, 2013. "La fabrique des outils de gestion : quels régimes de conception ?," Post-Print halshs-00867973, HAL.
    7. Ken Starkey & Armand Hatchuel & Sue Tempest, 2009. "Management Research and the New Logics of Discovery and Engagement," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 547-558, May.
    8. Sonia Adam-Ledunois & Sébastien Damart, 2016. "Innovation managériale… ou pas ? Design d'une méthodologie d'analyse critique des objets de management," Post-Print hal-01780623, HAL.
    9. Dag Madsen & Kåre Slåtten, 2013. "The Role of the Management Fashion Arena in the Cross-National Diffusion of Management Concepts: The Case of the Balanced Scorecard in the Scandinavian Countries," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-33, August.
    10. Schiele, Holger & Krummaker, Stefan & Hoffmann, Petra & Kowalski, Rita, 2022. "The “research world café” as method of scientific enquiry: Combining rigor with relevance and speed," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 280-296.
    11. Bäcklund, Jonas & Werr, Andreas, 2001. "The construction of global management consulting - a study of consultancies’ web presentations," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration 2001:3, Stockholm School of Economics.
    12. Pippa Carter & Norman Jackson, 2004. "For the Sake of Argument: Towards an Understanding of Rhetoric as Process," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3), pages 469-491, May.
    13. Françoise Dany, 2003. "Cadres et entrepreneuriat. Mythes et réalités Actes de la journée d'étude du 6 juin 2002," Post-Print hal-03720398, HAL.
    14. J H Klein & N A D Connell & E Meyer, 2007. "Operational research practice as storytelling," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(12), pages 1535-1542, December.
    15. Nijholt, Jurriaan J. & Heusinkveld, Stefan & Benders, Jos, 2014. "Handling management ideas: Gatekeeping, editors and professional magazines," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 470-484.
    16. McKinlay, Alan & Pezet, Eric, 2018. "Foucault, governmentality, strategy: From the ear of the sovereign to the multitude," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 57-68.
    17. repec:vuw:vuwmba:14683 is not listed on IDEAS

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