From the Frankfurt School to business schools: critical management studies in Turkey
International Journal of Organizational Analysis
ISSN: 1934-8835
Article publication date: 9 March 2012
Abstract
Purpose
Critical management studies (CMS), as an unorthodox management perspective, has become more and more accepted in Western business schools. The purpose of this paper is to problematize its circulation area and interrogate to what extent CMS has penetrated Turkish academia.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews papers presented and published in The National Management/Organization Conference which has been held annually for the last 19 years. In addition, the paper examines the management programs of the top 20 Turkish universities' business schools, in terms of whether their curricula include any critical content.
Findings
It is suggested that CMS has not found resonance in Turkey. This case is argued on a set of dynamics as follows: the Americanization process in knowledge producing, economic integration into American vision, late industrialization, bureaucratic political tradition, statism, and some cultural characteristics.
Originality/value
Studies employing critical management arguments and those on the dissemination of critical theory in Turkey seem to be quite silent. This paper questions CMS's place in Turkish management literature, explains the dynamics of its (under)development, and suggests ways in which CMS could be become more attractive in this part of the world.
Keywords
Citation
Ozcan, K. (2012), "From the Frankfurt School to business schools: critical management studies in Turkey", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 107-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/19348831211215696
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited