Twenty-first International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how knowledge and belief claims are communicated in top tier management journals and what identity (textually realised in voice) writers assume in order to disseminate this knowledge and persuade the reader. The study focuses on the inclusive and exclusive rhetorical strategies writers adopt with respect to their readers. The question underlying the research is: “Is change and development which are placed in the mission statements of top tier journals being brought about by reading these journals? How can we tell?” The research empirically tests the application of positioning theory and uses data-based, discourse research methods typically employed in applied linguistics. To gain a detailed insight into the rhetorical strategies managerial writers adopt with respect to their readers an analytic rubric was designed, combining Hyland’s (2008) interactional model of voice with Lehman’s (2018, 2020) conceptualization of writer identity. What positioning theory and these methods have in common is that identity is constructed and performed through social interactions. This seminal study offers empirical and evidence-based methods and tools to analyse managerial discourse, leading to new ways of thinking about communication of the discipline’s knowledge and beliefs in a variety of social, cultural, institutional and organisational contexts. It also provides several options for future research, including the analysis of the relationship between the communication of tacit and explicit managerial knowledge and writer voice, with the intention to offer practical advice for academics hoping to publish in high-ranking, international management journals.