We extend research on management ideas by providing a narrative framework for studying how management ideas are consumed. We dwell upon Certeau’s (1984) work on the practice of consumption and Ricœur’s (1983) concept of emplotment. Specifically, we study, over a 20-year time period, how Cement Inc., a multinational company, adopted and used knowledge management (KM) ideas and practices. We disclose the consumption of KM at Cement Inc. through four plots that provide an account not only in terms of adopting and using, but also in terms of organizational and individual experiences. We show that knowledge management ideas are co-consumed through multiple, iterative, continuous emplotments, unfolding at multiple levels across time, people and practices.We argue that our narrative framework makes two contributions. First, it provides an integrative view of the consumption of management ideas and proves a helpful device for making sense of an enormous amount of data. Second, it allows unity as well as multiplicity in analysis of the consumption process: one story is told from many different perspectives and results in broader understanding.

Over the past decade the number of maritime transportation accidents has fallen. However, as shipping vessels continue to increase in size, one single incident, such as the oil spills from ‘super’ tankers, can have catastrophic and long-term consequences for marine ecosystems, the environment and local economies. Maritime transport accidents are complex and caused by a combination of events or processes that might ultimately result in the loss of human and marine life, and irreversible ecological, environmental and economic damage. Many studies point to direct or indirect human error as a major cause of maritime accidents, which raises many unanswered questions about the best way to prevent catastrophic human error in maritime contexts. This paper takes a first step towards addressing some of these questions by improving our understanding of upstream maritime accidents from an organisation science perspective—an area of research that is currently underdeveloped. This will provide new and relevant insights by both clarifying how ships can be described in terms of organisations and by considering them in a whole ecosystem and industry. A bibliometric review of extant literature of the causes of maritime accidents related to human error was conducted, and the findings revealed three main root causes of human and organisational error, namely, human resources and management, socio-technical Information Systems and Information Technologies, and individual/cognition-related errors. As a result of the bibliometric review, this paper identifies the gaps and limitations in the literature and proposes a research agenda to enhance our current understanding of the role of human error in maritime accidents. This research agenda proposes new organisational theory perspectives—including considering ships as organisations; types of organisations (highly reliable organisations or self-organised); complex systems and socio-technical systems theories for digitalised ships; the role of power; and developing dynamic safety capabilities for learning ships. By adopting different theoretical perspectives and adapting research methods from social and human sciences, scholars can advance human error in maritime transportation, which can ultimately contribute to addressing human errors and improving maritime transport safety for the wider benefit of the environment and societies ecologies and economies.

« L’entreprise libérée en question : le DRH doit se positionner ! », tel était le titre d’un article récent dans une revue professionnelle 7 . Encensées par les uns, dénoncées par les autres, les entreprises décrites comme « libérées » suscitent a minima la curiosité et interpellent le présent comme le futur de la GRH. À en croire ses promoteurs ou ses défenseurs, ce type d’entreprise représenterait un nouveau modèle de performance : celle-ci serait obtenue par la libération des énergies et de l’implication des collaborateurs, au travers de modes d’organisation et de pratiques de GRH caractéristiques. En particulier, deux effets bénéfiques seraient recherchés dans ce modèle, et seraient à l’origine de la performance revendiquée : d’une part, le développement de la capacité à innover ; d’autre part, l’amélioration de la qualité de vie au travail. Au-delà des discours, que pouvons-nous en dire dans les faits ? Les entreprises qui s’affichent comme « libérées » génèrent-elles effectivement davantage d’innovation et de bien-être au travail ? Cet article, après avoir posé les bases d’une généalogie du modèle des entreprises libérées, en discute les impacts sur un cas exploratoire, celui d’une entreprise de services numériques.

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