Mats Alvesson: 13 books

Electronic Inspection Copy available for instructors here 'With his usual engaging and inimitable style, Mats Alvesson takes the reader on a riveting journey through the diverse ways in which culture itself can be understood and how these powerfully inform organizational life.' - Blake E. Ashforth,...

Lecturers/Instructors - Request a free digital inspection copy here Making a case for a reflexive approach to leadership, the authors draw upon decades of carrying out in-depth studies of professionals trying to “do” leadership. Through interviews with managers and their subordinates, getting...

Praise for the Second Edition:  "In opposition to most literature on how to conduct good social science research which is either empirically oriented or gives priority to theoretical and philosophical considerations, which tends to make empirical research look odd or irrelevant, this...

All researchers want to produce interesting and influential theories. A key step in all theory development is formulating innovative research questions that will result in interesting and significant research. Traditional textbooks on research methods tend to ignore, or gloss over, actual ways...

`Alvesson and Deetz rehearse the arguments against neo-positivism and quantitative research very effectively… also make the important distinction between qualitative work in general and critical qualitative work in particular. The arguments here feel fresh and engaged, helped along by numerous illustrations...

Electronic Inspection Copy available for instructors here `An unusually comprehensive and sophisticated analysis of how organizations and the men and women who work within them are affected by gendered processes and relations. Alvesson and Billing's contribution is unique in its sensitivity...

Empirical data is one of the cornerstones of knowledge in the social sciences, and yet the researcher often takes it for granted, reserving his or her imaginative faculties for finding a theory that 'fits the data'. This revealing account of the theory-data relationship calls this faith in data into...

How is practical change work carried out in modern organizations? And what kind of challenges, tasks and other difficulties are normally encountered as a part of it? In a turbulent and changing world, organizational culture is often seen as central for sustained competitiveness. Organizations...

Functional stupidity can be catastrophic. It can cause organisational collapse, financial meltdown and technical disaster. And there are countless, more everyday examples of organisations accepting the dubious, the absurd and the downright idiotic, from unsustainable management fads to the cult of...

Electronic Inspection Copy available for instructors here The first edition of Making Sense of Management set out to provide a fresh perspective on management that was both broad and critical, exploring how the disruptive and constructive potential of critical theory can be realized in organizations....

This book argues that we are currently witnessing not merely a decline in the quality of social science research, but the proliferation of meaningless research, of no value to society, and modest value to its authors - apart from securing employment and promotion. The explosion of published outputs,...

Researchers conducting interviews in the social sciences quickly find that there is no single best way to approach their task. This text offers a critique of traditional interviewing practices and provides a framework for thinking about issues such as trustworthiness, identity and language in a conceptual...

Organizations are often complex and unwieldy, and many managers have difficulty in combining ideals and positive identities with the complexities and imperfections of life. They are expected to be strategic and competent, while at the same time human and empathetic. This engaging book takes a fresh...