History-making and the Academy of Management: an ANTi-History perspective

Abstract

In this article we draw on an ANTi-History perspective to explore the role of ‘history-making’ in the creation of the Academy of Management (AoM). Our interests here are threefold. First, as critical management scholars we have a fundamental interest in the influence and power of knowledge over people's lives. Second, and what we see as a related area of interest, we are profoundly interested in the role of history in how social life is made sense of. Third, as members of the broad academic community, we are interested in the role of scholarly practices in the production and dissemination of knowledge. In this last regard we have a long-term interest in the AoM as a far-reaching scholarly association that powerfully influences, particularly through its journals but also its conferences and leading members, management knowledge in the twenty-first century. By exploring the role of history in the making of the AoM we hope to expose some of the mechanisms of its power and, in so doing, further open management theorizing to a multitude of perspectives. We conclude with insights for actor-network approaches to history and management and organizational studies.