Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

2-2004

Abstract

Drawing on the work of Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle and Daniel Boorstin's The Image, this article argues that aesthetic and management fashions are not separate forms, as both represent the preeminence of the image spectacle. Central to this is the increasing emergence of pseudoevents and synthetic products. Using empirical findings from a study of the production of six best-selling management books, it shows that they are manufactured coproductions that result from an intricate editorial process in which the original ideas are moulded in order for them to have a positive impact on the intended audience. Central to this is a set of conventions that stress the vivification of ideas. The editorial process thus seeks to enhance the aesthetic attractiveness of the ideas. The implications of the conceptual approach and empirical findings are considered with respect to current understandings of management fashion.

Keywords

management gurus, management fashion, spectacle

Discipline

Organizational Behavior and Theory | Scholarly Publishing

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Management Communication Quarterly

Volume

17

Issue

3

First Page

396

Last Page

424

ISSN

0893-3189

Identifier

10.1177/0893318903257979

Publisher

SAGE Publications (UK and US)

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Comments

Reprinted in Minahan, S. and Wolfram Cox, J. (eds.) (2007) The aesthetic turn in management. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318903257979

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