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When fiction trumps truth : what ‘post-truth’ and ‘alternative facts’ mean for management studies
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Knight, Eric and Tsoukas, Haridimos (2019) When fiction trumps truth : what ‘post-truth’ and ‘alternative facts’ mean for management studies. Organization Studies, 40 (2). pp. 183-197. doi:10.1177/0170840618814557 ISSN 0170-8406.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0170840618814557
Abstract
In this essay, we explore the notions of ‘post-truth’ and ‘alternative facts’ for management studies. Adopting a pragmatist perspective, we argue that there is no intrinsically accurate language in terms of which to refer to reality. Language, rather, is a tool that enables agents to grab hold of causal forces and intervene in the world. ‘Alternative facts’ can be created by multimodal communication to highlight different aspects of the world for the purpose of political mobilization and legitimacy. ‘Post-truth’ politics reveals the fragmentation of the language game in which mainstream politics has been hitherto conducted. Using the communicative acts of businessman-turned-politician President Trump and his aides, as a prompt, we explore the implications that ‘alternative facts’ and ‘post-truth’ have for today’s management scholarship. We argue that management scholars should unpack how managers navigate strategic action and communication, and how the creation of alternative realities is accomplished in conditions of informational abundance and multimodal communication.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HM Sociology J Political Science > JA Political science (General) |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Trump, Donald, 1946-, Truthfulness and falsehood -- Political aspects, Knowledge, Sociology of, Political culture -- History -- 21st century, Management -- Research | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Organization Studies | ||||||||
Publisher: | Sage Publications Ltd. | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0170-8406 | ||||||||
Official Date: | 1 February 2019 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 40 | ||||||||
Number: | 2 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 183-197 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1177/0170840618814557 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | Knight, Eric and Tsoukas, Haridimos (2019) When fiction trumps truth : what ‘post-truth’ and ‘alternative facts’ mean for management studies. Organization Studies, 40 (2). pp. 183-197. Copyright © 2019 SAGE Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840618814557 | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 15 January 2020 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 15 January 2020 |
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