Pop-Management: 15 Years Later - the incorporation of pop-management in the work of executives of big companies

Abstract This article analyzes how corporative executives construct their arguments to justify incorporating elements of pop-management literature into their work. To reach our goal, we review the literature on pop-management and criticism directed at this phenomenon. Regarding the procedures, we interviewed 12 executives using argumentative analyses. Our analyses recognized four argumentative lines used by the interviewees: (1) Pop-management is a tool to support decision making; (2) Pop-management offers practical guidelines to achieve results; (3) Pop-management is a tool to disseminate knowledge for the relationship networks; (4) Pop-management is a source for personal improvement. Our findings point to directions on how executives incorporate the knowledge obtained from pop-management literature into their activities as well as the implications in these processes. Managers and executives might use the contributions of this study in their decision making on the use of pop-management literature in their work.

摘要：本研究旨在剖析企业高管如何构建论证，以证明在工作中融入流行管理文献相关内容的合理性。为达成研究目标，本文系统梳理了流行管理领域的既有文献及针对该现象的批判观点。在研究流程层面，本文采用论证分析法对12名企业高管开展访谈。经分析，受访高管共采用四类论证逻辑：其一，流行管理是辅助决策的工具；其二，流行管理可提供达成绩效目标的实操指引；其三，流行管理是面向人际关系网络传播知识的工具；其四，流行管理是推动个人职业提升的资源来源。本研究结果明确了高管将从流行管理文献中获取的知识融入工作活动的可行路径，以及该过程中的相关影响。企业管理者与高管可借助本研究的成果，优化自身在工作中应用流行管理文献的决策环节。