Organizational Atmospheres: Foam, Affect and Architecture

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Organizational Atmospheres: Foam, Affect and Architecture Christian Borch Volume 17(2): 223–241 ISSN 1350–5084 Copyright © The Author(s), 2009. Reprints and permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark Abstract. This article discusses the contribution of Peter Sloterdijk’s theory of spheres to organization theory. Specifically, I apply Sloterdijk’s sphereological notion of foam to obtain a new perspective on organizations. It is argued that a foam-theoretical approach provides a simultaneous focus on organizational dynamics of affective imitation, on the spatial and architectural dimensions of organizations and, finally, on the politics of organizational atmospheres. The article opens with a brief introduction to Sloterdijk’s sphere theory and then proceeds by applying his notion of foam to organizations. This includes a comparison between the foamtheoretical angle and existing perspectives in organization theory. Next I discuss Sloterdijk’s analyses of the spatiality of foam. In the final part of the article, I argue for taking seriously the politics and management of organizational atmospheres. Key words. affect; architecture; atmosphere; foam; Gabriel Tarde; imitation; organizations; Peter Sloterdijk In the past decade a growing interest has emerged in the spatial and architectural dimensions of organizational life. Seminal work in this field has pointed to intimate links between generative building and organizing (Kornberger and Clegg, 2004); to how the design of workspaces is used to attract valuable workers (Duffy, 1997); as well as to the general interrelations between material space and organization (Dale and Burrell, 2008). These examples represent only a tiny fraction of the important work that has recently been conducted on the spatial and architectural aspects of DOI: 10.1177/1350508409337168 http://org.sagepub.com Downloaded from org.sagepub.com at Stockholms Universitet on March 30, 2011
Organization 17(2) Articles organizations (further discussions include Dale, 2005; Weick, 2003). The aim of this article is not to review or discuss this literature but rather to add a supplementary layer to it. I do so by applying the German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk’s theory of spheres in organization studies. 1 The basic claim of the article is that Sloterdijk’s work offers a valuable contribution to organization theory by pointing to the need for analysing the ‘politics of atmospheres’ in organizations. This means that we should not merely look at how organizations are structured spatially and architecturally; we should also examine how affective atmospheres are created and how the affective states are transmitted in the organization. According to Sloterdijk, humans live in spheres which give them meaning and provide them with a protective membrane. Sloterdijk analyses three key spheres that he names bubbles, globes and foams. Common to the theoretical observations of these spheres is the focus on air conditions or atmospheres broadly understood, i.e. the external and spatial conditions for our being-together. This article pays primary attention to the sphere of foam. Specifically, I show how organizations may be analysed as social foam structures. The main argument of the article is that such a perspective is pertinent to organization theory in that it unites an investigation of: (1) organizational dynamics of affective imitation; (2) the spatial and architectural dimensions of organizations and (3) the politics of organizational atmospheres. The article has four parts. It begins with a brief presentation of Sloterdijk’s theory of spheres. The second part of the article outlines five general implications of analysing organizations as social foam. This part also compares the foam perspective to established positions within organization theory (e.g. DiMaggio and Powell and Luhmann). In the third part, I examine the spatial and architectural aspects of foam, as Sloterdijk describes them. Finally, the fourth part demonstrates how the focus on space and architecture can be linked to foam theory’s focus on affective imitation. This results in the call for taking seriously the politics of organizational atmospheres, including the management of these atmospheres. As this outline indicates, the article pursues a theoretical research agenda; it is beyond the scope of this article to offer a specific analysis of organizational foam. Sloterdijk’s Theory of Spheres Peter Sloterdijk (born 1947) is one of the leading contemporary German philosophers. His major breakthrough was the Critique of Cynical Reason (1988) which became a bestseller in Germany in the mid-1980s. This book is one of his few works that has been translated into English. The fact that a great part of Sloterdijk’s more than 30 books remains unavailable in English has curbed the international recognition of his work. However, in recent years his trilogy on spheres, Sphären I–III (1998–2004), has attracted significant international attention and has been translated into French and Spanish. One of the scholars who rates Sloterdijk’s work very 224 Downloaded from org.sagepub.com at Stockholms Universitet on March 30, 2011
Page 1: Organization http://org.sagepub.com
Page 5 and 6: Organization 17(2) Articles isolati
Page 7 and 8: Organization 17(2) Articles Fourth,
Page 9 and 10: Organization 17(2) Articles The sus
Page 11 and 12: Organization 17(2) Articles not bec
Page 13 and 14: Organization 17(2) Articles individ
Page 15 and 16: Organization 17(2) Articles footpri
Page 17 and 18: Notes Organization 17(2) Articles a
Page 19 and 20: Organization 17(2) Articles and P.

Organizational Atmospheres: Foam, Affect and Architecture

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?