Comprador management? Organizing management knowledge in Argentina (1975‐2003)

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the production of management knowledge in Argentina.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a qualitative research strategy that draws on one of the authors' participant observation in the field of Argentine management education, selected data from Argentine universities, and a bibliometric study of local and foreign management journals.

Findings

Suggests that local academics are mainly engaged in the production of practitioner‐oriented management knowledge that is highly influenced by US popular market managerialism. Analyses the causes of the low level of production of indigenous academic knowledge, concluding that it can be explained by three related factors: the lack of financial resources to pursue independent scholarly research; the academic elite's lack of independence relative to the consulting elite; and the resulting patterns of cultural and social capital of Argentine management scholars. Concludes that that this situation might not be unique to Argentina, and that the hegemonic position of popular management discourse in developing countries is useful for those interest groups who benefit from managerialism.

Originality/value

Contributes to the largely neglected study of the processes of creation diffusion and consumption of management knowledge in developing countries

Citation

Gantman, E.R. and Parker, M. (2006), "Comprador management? Organizing management knowledge in Argentina (1975‐2003)", Critical Perspectives on International Business, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 25-40. https://doi.org/10.1108/17422040610644144