Management and Organization Studies as Science?

Abstract

This paper addresses the status of knowledge in the field of management and organization studies. It commends Habermas's theory of knowledge-constitutive interests as a way of enhancing the self-understanding of this field. Challenging the idea of science as the generator of value-free knowledge, Habermas associates the production of scientific knowledge with three types of cognitive interest: in prediction and control, in mutual understanding, and in emancipation. Habermas's theory of cognitive interests is critically reviewed before demonstrating its relevance for management and organization studies in general. The argument is also illustrated by more detailed reference to the subfield of operational research. It is argued that Habermas's understanding of knowledge production has considerable value in problematizing the claims, and appreciating the emancipatory potential, of sciences guided by each of the three cognitive interests. There remains, however, the question of how the insights of critical scientific analysis can be translated into emancipatory praxis. The discussion of critical social science incorporates some reflections on this issue.