Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Intellectual ...

Kenneth Grant
part <strong>of</strong> normal management practice, o<strong>the</strong>rs fade and disappear. Management must be seen to be
always looking for improvement, creating a constant demand for new management fashions, which is
met by a supply <strong>of</strong> new ideas promoted by management fashion setters. These fashion setters may
“invent, rediscover or reinvent <strong>the</strong> management technique <strong>the</strong>y attempt to launch into fashion”. The
expectation is that, over time, <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> a specific management fashion will decline and new fashions
emerge to meet <strong>the</strong> demand for innovative ideas.
Figure 1 illustrates <strong>the</strong> general argument. Following a period <strong>of</strong> latency, where initial concepts are
formulated but do not receive widespread attention, some trigger drives a period <strong>of</strong> rapid growth in
popularity, followed by a period <strong>of</strong> widespread use and <strong>the</strong>n a period <strong>of</strong> decline. During this period <strong>of</strong>
decline <strong>the</strong> management fashion may be subject to a re-examination and redefinition that may <strong>the</strong>n
act as a trigger for a new a wave <strong>of</strong> popularity. As a result, some fashions can achieve widespread
adoption and continued use for a considerable period <strong>of</strong> time. O<strong>the</strong>rs will decline quite quickly and
<strong>the</strong>se are considered to be "fads". Finally, in a given subject area during a period <strong>of</strong> decline, a
redefinition can take place and multiple cycles or generations <strong>of</strong> innovation are visible where, as one
proposed approach declines, fashion setters introduce a new innovation.
Figure 1: The management fashion cycle (Abrahamson and Fairchild, 1999)
Of particular importance in <strong>the</strong> supply <strong>of</strong> management fashion is <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> "management guru.”
Huczynski (1993) describes three kinds <strong>of</strong> management guru:
The Academic Guru: An academic from a major educational institution, who has developed and
popularized his or her ideas on some aspect <strong>of</strong> management, such as Porter, Mintzberg or Blanchard.
The Consultant Guru: Senior pr<strong>of</strong>essionals and prestigious firms who have established a reputation
for creative insight and extensive experience in particular fields, such as Peters and Waterman,
Deming, Drucker or <strong>the</strong> consulting firms <strong>of</strong> McKinsey or BCG.
The Hero-Manager Guru: A senior executive who has committed <strong>the</strong>ir thoughts to print, ei<strong>the</strong>r directly
or through a biographer, and whose authority comes from apparent success such as Iacocca, Welch
and Trump.
Between 1996 and 2010, at least 21 studies <strong>of</strong> management fashion have been carried out,
examining 32 different management topics. In almost every case, a period <strong>of</strong> latency (perhaps 5 years
or more) is followed by a rapid growth in popularity (typically from 3-5 years) with a very short peak
(sometimes for as little as 1 year) and <strong>the</strong>n a steady decline in interest to a much lower steady state
(perhaps over a 5- 7 year period).
2.2 The case <strong>of</strong> knowledge management
Consideration <strong>of</strong> KM as a strategic issue is a relatively new phenomenon in business. While
philosophers have long debated <strong>the</strong> origin and nature <strong>of</strong> knowledge, its consideration as a topic
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