Reconstituting the centrality of power in management and organization studies

This Dialogue engages in some reflection on the role of power in Organization and Management Research, prompted by the publication of the second edition of Frameworks of Power, by Stewart R. Clegg (2023). The Dialogue includes contributions by Chris Carter, Richard Badham, and Andrea Whittle, and some thoughts in response by Stewart Clegg. The Dialogue begins with an overview by Chris Carter, then the further contributions both denounce the ‘forgetting of power’ in current views of organizational phenomena – such as leadership, team behavior, resilience – in which differences in interests and in freedom of choice seem to be missing in action. Andrea Whittle first introduces the relationship between power and leadership, as a neglected topic, followed by Richard Badham, recalling lessons from the past that should not be forgotten. Reflecting on the Dialogue, Stewart Clegg responds by relating power’s salient dimensions and types to the model of circuits of power and calls for a resuscitation of some classically European organization and management theory ways of thinking about power and democracy.