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A Consulting Diaspora? Enterprising Selves as Agents of EnterpriseWarwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, andrew.sturdy{at}wbs.ac.uk
Discipline of Work and Organizational Studies, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, c.wright2{at}econ.usyd.edu.au While the concept of enterprise identity has been extensively discussed, the active role of individuals in promoting enterprise is less understood. This article presents enterprising selves not simply as a self-disciplinary outcome of power, but as agential, whereby actors support regimes of enterprise, either actively or symbolically. In particular, it explores a neglected group—former management consultants working as change agents within organizations. This `consulting diaspora' is appointed on the basis of the prestige of their former occupation, as well as their enthusiasm for, and skills in, change management. They also embody enterprise through their `personal brand' in the labour market and an anti-bureaucratic, pro-change orientation. However, these characteristics, combined with the perishability of their status, limit the ability of these actors to embed enterprise. Rather, it is through the loss of their novel, enterprising appearance—'going native'—that change is reinforced. Thus, paradoxically, their enterprising nature runs counter to the adoption of techniques of enterprise. This has implications for our understanding of enterprise as organizational change, as well as the promotion of management ideas more generally.
Key Words: enterprise • management consultants • management idea promotion • organizational change
Organization, Vol. 15, No. 3,
427-444 (2008) This article has been cited by other articles:
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