... Publishing Limited Licensed re-use rights only Foucault Management history Postmodernism ANTi-history Historic turn Hailed as a pathway to “more heterogeneous forms of history” (Durepos et al., 2019 , p. 1), in truth the “historic turn” represents a tragic wrong turn...

... of the nature of management history by discussing traditional versus postmodern history. Hopefully, the authors can commence with a dialogue to further historical research. For several generations of management historians, especially those trained in the USA, the guiding star in terms of both theoretical...

... and conceptual analysis, relying on relevant philosophy of science scholarship. The object of study is the concept of management theory. Findings Most commentators on management theory rely on a widespread view (of postmodern lineage) according to which incommensurable management research paradigms exist...

... interests and practical orientations of these disciplines. James M. Wilson can be contacted at: James.Wilson@glasgow.ac.uk © Emerald Publishing Limited 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited Licensed re-use rights only One feature of postmodernism is a questioning of “grand narrative...

..., the progenitor of “postmodernism”, sits self-consciously within this long-established oppositional tradition. Accusing practitioners of mainstream methods of “allowing the living, fragile, pulsating ‘history’ to slip through their fingers” (Foucault, 1972 , p. 11), Foucault – as a French theorist – found...