On the Way to Experience with the Phenomenological Venture of Management and Organization: A Literature Review

Phenomenology and phenomenological concepts have been part of Management and Organization Studies (MOS) since the discipline emerged. This chapter seeks to provide a comprehensive literature review of academic journals and to make visible the subtle but increasing presence of phenomenology within MOS. First, the chapter explores the relations between phenomenology and other theoretical streams—institutionalism and neo-institutionalism, pragmatism, process philosophy, and critical- and post-Marxist theories—in the context of MOS. Second, it focuses on the presence of phenomenology in key debates in organisational studies (embodied knowledge and learning, business ethics, spatiality and temporality of organizing, practice-based views, etc.). Lastly, this chapter outlines the realised and future potential contributions of phenomenology in exploring ongoing trends and practises in contemporary organisations, especially the move towards remote modes of working and decentered management. In that sense, issues of time, space, embodiment, and communalisation become fruitful avenues for phenomenological approaches in MOS.