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The Epistemology of Management: An Introduction

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Handbook of Philosophy of Management

Part of the book series: Handbooks in Philosophy ((HP))

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Abstract

The epistemological foundations of management studies have been contested throughout the history of the discipline. In this chapter, we first introduce the core of epistemology – the problem of knowledge. The problem of knowledge includes, in fact, several interrelated problems that form a system, such as: What is knowledge? Who or what has the capacity of knowing? How much can be known? What are the sources of knowing? And what knowledge is considered best? We then cluster current epistemological positions in management studies by differentiating between four epistemological orientations that differ in how the scientific statements relate to empirical reality. We refer to these orientations as (1) epistemologies of representation, (2) epistemologies of interpretation, (3) epistemologies of imagination, and (4) epistemologies of intervention. These four orientations serve as a structure to the contributions of this handbook, and also offer a novel way of mapping contemporary epistemologies in management scholarship.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management and Technology, Institute of Management and Organization, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany

    Markus Reihlen

  2. Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC), Copenhagen Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Dennis Schoeneborn

Authors
  1. Markus Reihlen
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  2. Dennis Schoeneborn
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Correspondence to Markus Reihlen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Newcastle University Business School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Cristina Neesham

  2. Professur für Betriebswirtschaftslehre, Universitaet Leuphana, Lüneburg, Germany

    Markus Reihlen

  3. Dept of Management, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Dennis Schoeneborn

Section Editor information

  1. Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Professur für Strategisches Management, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Deutschland

    Markus Reihlen

  2. Department of Management, Society & Communication (MSC), Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Danemark

    Dennis Schoeneborn

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Reihlen, M., Schoeneborn, D. (2022). The Epistemology of Management: An Introduction. In: Neesham, C., Reihlen, M., Schoeneborn, D. (eds) Handbook of Philosophy of Management. Handbooks in Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48352-8_66-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48352-8_66-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48352-8

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