Critical challenges in the emerging global managerial order

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to contribute to the discussion on criticality in international business by proposing an interconnection between organizational managerialism and the construction of a global managerial order. Design/methodology/approach – Explores the theoretical divide within critical management studies and the challenge provided to theory by internationalization/globalization. Using the case study of the World Bank, examines its organic drive to global governmentality. Examines relevance of C. Wright Mills's theory of the power élite to the advent of a global managerial élite. Findings – Neither purely realist nor constructivist accounts offer an adequate framework for critical study of international business. Using an approach acknowledging the interweaving of materiality and discourse in construction of a global order, argues that transnational institutions, including the World Bank, play a key role in implementing networked global managerialism. Updates critical élite theory to accommodate globalization and the rise of organized civil society. Research limitations/implications – Further challenges include mapping global managerial élites and their interconnections. Practical implications – Critical management researchers should pay more attention to the interconnection between organization-based theories of control and broader human systems. Originality/value – Contributes to the application of theories of managerial control beyond the intra-organizational context