Sub-theme 18: Marxist Organization Studies: Institutional Forms of Power and their Legitimacy
Call for Papers
In 2016, we will build on the success of the six previous EGOS Marxist studies sub-themes in bringing together people
who share an interest in drawing on Marx's ideas to advance organization studies. The organizers of the EGOS 2016 Colloquium
have called for papers on the interaction of overt and hidden forms of power, on the legitimacy and illegitimacy of institutions,
and how these contours of power shape the process of organizing and organization.
This sub-theme takes up this
invitation by providing the space for reflection on the current contributions and future prospects of Marxist-inspired organization
studies in examining the operation of power, institutions and organizing in shaping organizational life. With its dual emphasis
on human agency ("praxis") and class struggle on the one hand, and on the role of institutions and deep structures on the
other, Marxist work is particularly well placed to contribute to the examination of these phenomena.
We particularly
welcome papers that address the following:
- Class analyses of institutional power structures, organizational identities and organizing
- Marxist analyses of institutional fields, institutional identities and institutional legitimacy
- Institutions, structures and economic crises, including the 2007–8 financial crisis
- Globalization, neoliberalism and cross-national organizing
- Dynamics of power in the labour process and the labour market
We are not dogmatic in an attachment to any specific kind of Marxism – all kinds are welcome. In previous
years our sub-theme has enjoyed lively debate spanning a wide range of Marxist approaches. Some scholars have sought to integrate
insights from organization studies into a Marxist framework, while others have examined how Marxist insights may fruitfully
add analytical value to other research traditions.
We invite contributions that either (a) enrich our understanding
of the empirical world of organizations based on Marxist theoretical foundations, or (b) enrich Marxist theory in a way that
promises deeper understanding of that world.