Against Managerialist Research

Challenges managerialist research that depicts workers as irrational and dismisses the intrinsic value of workplace democracy.

Managerialism is an ideology that portrays workers as less rational than managers and denies the intrinsic value of workplace democracy. Mats Persson and Jan Ch. Karlsson offer a critical analysis of managerialist research and explain why scepticism towards its claims is warranted.Offering a rigorous critique of the scientific assumptions and ideological commitments that underlie contemporary managerialist research, this book exposes the foundational premises that sustain this influential approach. Mats Persson and Jan Ch. Karlsson define managerialism as an ideology that elevates management's goals and values to a universal status, shaping both research and practice. They demonstrate how managerialism promotes the alignment of workers' identities and aspirations with managerial objectives while excluding them from meaningful democratic participation in shaping those objectives. Tracing managerialist research back to Scientific Management and Human Relations – not merely to neoliberalism or New Public Management – the authors examine its two core dimensions: that workers are inherently irrational and that workplace democracy constitutes a threat against management and employers. They unpack managerialism's confused interpretations of organisational misbehaviour and resistance, analyse the ideological foundations of managerialist leadership theories, and ultimately propose more robust, democratic approaches to researching working life.