Understanding dominant discourses

Abstract

In this chapter, I examine how dominant discourses come about and how they exert influence by constructing bodies of knowledge, subject positions and power relations. I discuss how, despite appearing hegemonic and monolithic, even dominant discourses have to be held in place and there are always irregularities in their influence. I use examples of lean (just-in-time production), sustainability in supply chain management and green chemistry to show how degrees of dominance vary in different settings. I use the study of strategic change at a telco to show fissures in the dominant discourse of strategy when it is accomplished in local conditions. I use the discourse of risk to show how a dominant discourse repairs itself and intensifies its effects, even when it fails to do what it is supposed to. In this way, readers learn about both the reach and the fragility of dominant discourses.