Abstract

Repositioning Organization Theory studies the political positioning of organization theory. The book argues that there are two main projects in organization theory: the positioning and depositioning projects, or the hegemonic project of management and the postmodern project respectively. To critique the theoretical and political limits of these two projects, Böhm employs a range of critical (Benjamin and Adorno) and post-structural (Derrida, Laclau and Mouffe) philosophies. The book's main theoretical contribution is the conceptualization of what is called the 'political event', which is seen as an impossibility of social organization. The concept of the impossibility of organization seeks to simultaneously critique the hegemony of contemporary discourses of management knowledge and explore strategic possibilities for different organizational futures. This book is therefore a passionate call for repositioning and repoliticizing organization theory. Böhm illustrates this project of repositioning by engaging with the organizational and political challenges currently faced by anti-capitalist and social forum movements.

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