Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the persistent ambiguity of socialization practices in US and Swedish organizations, which promote a mature work identity while infantilizing their employees. Design/methodology/approach – Application of the insights from modernist...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question the common conviction that responsibility is the major factor influencing performance. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a comparison of two recent cases of ecological catastrophes. Findings – In emergency...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the complexity of accounting for the city, on a specific example of an urban project in Rome. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a study consisting of various accounts of the project, including a photo reportage done by...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze common emplotments of interpretations of the financial crisis of 2007‐2010. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a text analysis. Findings – The paper finds that the same “strong plots” are commonly used to explain...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of shadowing as a field technique. Design/methodology/approach – This piece takes the form of a viewpoint. Findings – Barbara Czarniawska describes the methodological journey that led her to the adoption of shadowing approaches in...