Much of organizational theory emanating from the field of management studies has been predicated on the Westocentric assumption of universality and has, therefore, been bereft of cultural contextualization. This is problematic insofar as such theories negate the lived realities of many non-Western peoples, particularly those who constitute members of systematically oppressed classes. With the aim to subvert the ethnocentric foundation upon which organizational studies has been traditionally grounded, this article illuminates the utility of Foucauldian thought on cross-cultural management research. It contends that Foucault’s concept of genealogy can potentially serve as a theoretical purveyor from which to destabilize the myth of universality in organizational studies, and to contest the epistemological hegemony that has been afforded to Western organizational analysis. Finally, it concludes that the conscientious deployment of Foucauldian genealogy can discursively open up a multiplicity of perspectives in understanding cross-cultural organizational life.
La majorité de la théorie organisationnelle émanant de la discipline du management s’appuie sur l’hypothèse occidentalocentriste de l’universalité et s’est donc ainsi privée de toute contextualisation culturelle. Ceci est problématique car ces théories nient les réalités de nombreuses populations non occidentales, particulièrement celles que constituent les membres des classes systématiquement opprimées. Cet article, qui a pour objectif de renverser les fondations ethnocentriques sur lesquelles les études organisationnelles se sont traditionnellement appuyées, montre l’utilité de la pensée de Foucault pour la recherche en management interculturel. Il argue que le concept Foucaldien de la généalogie peut servir de modèle théorique sur la base duquel il sera possible de déstabiliser le mythe de l’universalité dans les études organisationnelles et de contester l’hégémonie épistémologique dont dispose l’analyse organisationnelle occidentale. L’article conclut que le déploiement consciencieux de la généalogie Foucaldienne peut ouvrir diverses perspectives pour comprendre la vie organisationnelle interculturelle.
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