Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how mechanistic and organic metaphors might be fused through the application of cultural imagery. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a theoretical examination of metaphor and its application in public organizations. Specifically,...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a critical view of rhetoric, science, scientific research, and management that discloses the role of rhetoric in these fields and that offers a conceptual framework for this special issue of the Journal of Organizational Change Management ....

The critical theory of the Frankfurt School was imbued with a vision that apprehended social milieu as dialectic. Those who wish to adopt a dialectical orientation to their work as agents of and for change need to appreciate that such an orientation is likely to engender certain psychodynamics...

While the literature has emphasized the literal and the narrative within organizations, this article will consider the visual and the imaginal. Organizations are known and experienced through images, and these images must be considered if organizational culture is to be understood or changed. We...

Purpose – To conceptualize and theorize dialogue's diagnostic as well as generative functions for strategic innovation and organizational change. Design/methodology/approach – Conceptual development with case illustration. Findings – Strategic innovation requires shifts in existing mental...

Purpose – The purpose of this conceptual paper is to discuss the relevance of Lacanian psychoanalysis for thinking on organizational functioning and organizational change. Design/methodology/approach – First, the authors discuss basic Lacanian ideas with regard to the notion of the...

Purpose – This paper has three purposes. The first is to introduce the concept of fantasy, based on Lacanian pyschoanlysis, in order to link theoretically the role of narrative and affect in organizational strategies of control. The second is to use this concept to illuminate the fantasmatic...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to add to current discussions on the use of Lacanian psychoanalysis in organizational change. Specifically, It argues that critiques of Lacan's work must be acknowledged and incorporated into these discussions. To date, there remains a silence surrounding...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the resistance to change in the organizational contexts where a soon‐to‐be‐implemented change initiative infringes upon freedoms of the employees. Specifically, the role of affect was explored within the framework of psychological...

Leadership is one of the most complex and multifaceted phenomena to which organisational and psychological research has been applied. An evolutionary developmental perspective is used to create an evolutionary tree of leadership theory and reveal the path along which it has evolved. Nine...