Saying What You Do and Doing What You Say: The Performative Dynamics of Lean Management Discourse

Abstract

Why are certain managerial approaches able to impose themselves and influence organizational practices in a significant way? Inspired by the notion of performativity, this study investigates the case of the Québec public health care system, where a managerial theory – that of “lean management” – has recently emerged, gained saliency and become dominant in organizational practice. Adopting a longitudinal and multi-level research approach, we focus more precisely on the conditions that allow performativity to occur and increase, considering how this process unfolds over time. We study the processes and conditions through which lean management, imposed itself, both in the overall health care system and in two distinct health care organizations, becoming a reality for these organizations, and eventually reinforcing itself. By unveiling the action of three performative dynamics, the study reveals catalysts and inhibitors of performativity, that have relevance beyond the specific case.