Distant readings: anthropology of organizations through novels

Abstract

Purpose

Although it is commonly assumed that comparative studies are the best way to proceed in constructing theories of organizing, the practical fulfillment of this postulate has always been problematic. For example, anthropologists should have given organization theorists a clue long ago: they made the stories of their exotic localities interesting by using a variety of fictional approaches in their reporting. The purpose of this paper is to call for the development of anthropologies of organization through “distant reading” of novels.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses insights from literary theory, notably Iser and Moretti, to discuss the benefits of “distant readings” of novels for scholars and students within the discipline of organization studies.

Findings

Distant readings can make it possible for those studying organizations to consider novels as sources in historical anthropology; can enable an exploration of the theories embedded in the novel; can contribute to advancement in approaches to reading fieldwork material, and can help organization theorists better delineate the boundaries of their own literary genre.

Originality/value

The paper broadens the understanding of the relationship between the novel and organization through explaining how reading novels through the glasses of an organization theoretician might produce “novel readings” but also novel insights into the practices of organizing – across times and places.

Citation

Czarniawska, B. (2009), "Distant readings: anthropology of organizations through novels", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 357-372. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534810910967143