Management Fashions

Turning Bestselling Ideas into Objects and Institutions

Using the theory of management fashions proposed in the 1990s by Eric Abrahamson, Krzysztof Klincewicz analyzes the changing popularity of management concepts accompanied by solutions. Among these are management bestsellers, consulting services, software systems, methodologies, and approaches to organizational change, training courses, professional certifications and even new corporate positions.The book presents the phenomena of management fashions as being the key driver for the development of the management knowledge industry, consisting of consulting companies, computer firms, publishing houses, professional institutes, and other organizations involved in the launching and the promotion of new management techniques. The author supplements the existing body of knowledge by focusing on the supply-side of management fashions, particularly the strategies and marketing techniques of solution vendors, and proposes a model of relations between management ideas and tangible solutions, explaining how bestselling ideas are turned into objects and institutions.The empirical research described in this volume involves multiple methods, including discourse volume analysis and qualitative historical techniques. Included also is a comprehensive overview of the recent relevant developments in sociology, marketing, and organization sciences, in which the author draws on the heritage of praxiology by taking a meta-level perspective on the propositions of management science.