Humanistic Management Performativity ‘in the Wild’: The Role of Performative Bundles of Practices

Abstract

Humanistic management practices are often perceived as 'unrealistic', as they stand in steep contrast to 'normal' business reality shaped by the commercial logic of neoclassic economics. The conceptual lens of performative practices focuses on how practices that appear to be unrealistic can be 'made real' through their enactment. This paper studies such performative humanistic practices of the three companies Greyston (USA), Good-Ark (China), and Allsafe (Germany). Through a thematic template analysis, we identify two distinct types of accompanying practices that enable the performativity of the core humanistic management practices studied. Enabling practices favored the initial performativity the humanistic practices by providing a local 'proof of concept'. Disseminating practices aided performativity by spreading humanistic practices and therefore increasing practices' global verisimilitude.

Mapping the emerging field of responsible management: domains, spheres, themes, and future research

“…While being centered on the responsible manager and activities of managing responsibly, the study of responsible management is of a multi-level nature, as are empirical phenomena related to responsible management. For instance, the responsible management practice of Detlef Lohmann, owner-manager of the German Allsafe has emerged from a personal aspiration influenced by his family and religious values, but also from his experience working as a manager in automobile companies, and his critical views of the managerial occupation (Boons, Laasch, & Dierksmeier, 2018;Laasch, Dierksmeier, Livne-Tarandach, Pirson, Fu, & Qu, 2019b). The innovative responsible management practices he created through his company were further translated into transformative practices enacted by other companies, this way 'responsibilizing' the business community (Laasch, Boons, & Dierksmeier, 2019a).…”

“…Responsible management research, for instance, studies crucial individual practices like whistleblowing (Carollo, Pulcher, & Guerci, 2020), social issues' selling (Wickert & Bakker, 2018), or morally reflexive practices (Hibbert & Cunliffe, 2013). It also studies how such individual responsible management practices are enmeshed in entangled textures or bundles of responsible management practices (Laasch et al, 2019b;Laasch & Gherardi, 2019). Central subjects and objects of such studies are responsible managers practitioners, distinct communities of practice, their underlying logics, and the socio-material aspects of such practices including, for instance, management tools, materials, and sites of practice (Benn et al, 2013;Benn & Martin, 2010;Friedland, 2018;Shove, Pantzar, & Watson, 2012).…”

“…Responsible management, therefore, is interested in 'responsible' management innovation (Birkinshaw et al, 2008;Mol & Birkinshaw, 2009) -innovations of managerial practices that are aimed at realizing greater responsibility or dismantling built-in irresponsibilities. Such responsible management innovation may struggle, being conceived as 'unrealistic' or 'impossible' (Laasch et al, 2019b) as it is not only a "new to the state of art" of management like 'normal' management innovations (Birkinshaw et al, 2008), but typically questions the legitimacy of the taken-for-granted state-of-the-art of management itself, including its underlying paradigm and tenets.…”

Cultivating Organizations as Healing Spaces: A Typology for Responding to Suffering and Advancing Social Justice

“…Such organizations often expand their circle of influence and demonstrate crusader-like leadership in awakening other organizations to consider their role in healing their local communities and our society. For example, Greyston is not only committed to serve as a healer of its local community, but is committed to educate and support other organizations (within and outside the US) to adopt Open Hiring as a path toward promoting social justice and expanding societal healing more broadly (Pirson and Livne-Tarandach 2020;Laasch et al 2019).…”

“…While the benefits of organizational commitment to contribute as exemplifying healing space may be apparent and welcomed, some organizations may refrain from doing so and assume that such an approach may be unrealistic or unattainable for for-profit organizations (Laasch et al 2019). Although such an approach positions profit and social good as a duality of two competing elements, recent research demonstrates the dualism of these elements and presents them as complementary such that socially responsible business centered around societal healing can in fact be profitable (Sisodia and Gelb 2019;Marquis 2020).…”