The symbol is one of the key concepts in organization and management scholarship. Yet, as indicated by the authors in this debate, it has not been adequately conceptualized and as such it remains rather blunt and opaque. In what is the first systematic conceptual debate on this topic, the authors of this Point-Counterpoint debate seek to address this issue. The respective essays, despite marked differences in their approaches, offer novel and thought-provoking accounts of what the symbol is and how it works. Taken together these contributions offer a series of exciting new avenues to guide and redirect future research in this area.
Organizations, Institutions, and Symbols: Introduction to a Point-Counterpoint Conversation
Introduction by Daniel Muzio, Elena Dalpiaz, Dennis Jancsary, Christine Moser, Stephan Leixnering, Markus Höllerer, Nelson Philips, Martin Kornberger & Renate Meyer
The Biological Basis of the Symbolic: Exploring the Implications of the Co-Evolution of Language, Cognition and Sociality for Management Studies
Point by Nelson Phillips & Christine Moser
Ernst Cassirer and the Symbolic Foundation of Institutions
Counterpoint by Renate E. Meyer, Stephan Leixnering, Martin Kornberger, Dennis Jancsary & Markus A. Höllerer
