High-performance connections: Digital holism and communicative capitalism at HappyAppy

Abstract

The current study examines the ways in which new age organizations use digital culture to promote “holistic” visions of personal and social well-being. Concepts of holism are common in contemporary and new age management settings, but are largely undertheorized by organizational scholars; moreover, the relations between holism and techno-culture, increasingly recognized by digital sociologists, are largely missing from organizational scholarship. Using the lens of “communicative capitalism,” we carry out a case study of “HappyAppy,” a French techno-startup association concerned with well-being related applications, to understand how holistic ideas are deployed and shaped within this association. We find that that holism is marked, on the one hand, by “autarkic” fantasies, involving subjective integration and immersion, and on the other, by “relational” fantasies, involving interpersonal connection and participation. Moreover, each of these versions of holism is associated with distinct critical possibilities. We use these results to theorize the role of digital holism at the intersection of new age management and digital culture, outlining an agenda for future research.