Immaterial common goods and institutional reflexivity

Abstract

In this theoretical essay, speech acts such as promises, commitments, claims and critical appraisals are conceived of as forms of interacting that create immaterial common goods. The immaterial common good produced by speech acts can take over the function to determine what responsibility means on various levels, within projects, between and beyond departments. Forms of institutional reflexivity like peer groups and cross-departmental knowledge exchange are apt to extend the management's perspective. This applies particularly to the role of project management. An intense relationship with the customers allows project managers to challenge a corporation's business strategies and to contribute to the preparation of a shift in core business. Hence, it is of major importance to process the knowledge acquired in the projects for strategic purposes.