Corporations, Organization, and Human Action: an anthropological critique of agency theory

This chapter considers the major developments in management thought over the last century. How market logic, new interpretations in economics, and the development of the entrepreneurial corporation have impacted on management thinking are explored. The management science that has resulted projects a questionable conception of humanity. This analysis questions the anthropological foundations of the dominant conceptions of human agency, and how this has impoverished the understanding of both people and organizations. A broader anthropology is traced through the European literature on the advance of management, which identifies the essential capacity of humanity to contribute to collaborative endeavor and engage in meaningful social production