Contenu du sommaire : Métaphores en sciences de gestion

This paper analyzes the self-reported behaviors of store consultants and the internal practices/policies of seven Canadian telecommunications firms. The results indicate that duplicity and deception are not randomly distributed in the industry. Specifically, the study identifies a pattern of six internal practices/policies that can explain up to 68 % of the variation in these behaviors in employment.

In this review article, the author explains that actor-network theory comprehends market innovation as a joint reconfiguration of the different socio-technical components of the market. He then distinguishes eight “framing” processes identified in the literature and thus proposes a typology of concrete practices of market innovation. Finally, he specifies the contributions and limits of this perspective and highlights its managerial implications.

How to study the evolution of metaphors and their use in management science ? If the generalization of the use of a metaphor leads to the transformation of the “living” metaphor into a “dead” metaphor, so isn't every new metaphor doomed to disappear ? This dossier contains five articles which contribute, each in their own way, to the debate by providing additional and nuanced insights to the initial question. Beyond that, these contributions show that metaphors are not only used to describe the world of organizations but are sometimes a methodological research tool.

This article analyses a very usual metaphor, especially in French : referring to a company that controls another one as a “mother” or “parent” company, the one that is controlled as its “daughter” (subsidiary), and thus thinking of their relationships in terms of kinship and treating all the entities constituting a corporate group as a “family”. This metaphor is not simply a convenient way of talking about corporations, but more fundamentally a key concept and a coordination tool to ensure the intelligibility and proper functioning of groups that are a particularly sophisticated type of organisation compared to an integrated firm or to independent firms connected by market relations.

This research suggests that the use of conceptual metaphors help to enhance the value of responsible trade. The results of an experiment testing the impact of conceptual metaphors on consumers' attitudes towards fair trade are reported. The result show that certain metaphors influence the perceived societal importance of fair trade and willingness to pay. The findings of this study are discussed at the theoretical and managerial levels for actors in responsible supply chains operating in various marketing contexts.

The proliferation of space debris threatens all space activities. The management of such a complex problem, falling under the category of grand challenges, requires framing and a coordination effort from the stakeholders. From this case study, we propose to analyze the way actors employ analogies and metaphors to categorize the problem and imagine new solutions. Our results allow us to clarify the distinction between analogies and metaphors, as well as their roles in the understanding and framing of grand challenges. We show that these two figures of speech are interdependent and complementary.

The objective of this paper is to understand the evolution of associations with a social purpose. This sector has undergone a profound transformation in the way associations are financed. Starting from Ricoeur's metaphor theory, the research identifies the metaphors used by the actors to think about this transformation. The study of the interviews highlights living metaphors, dead metaphors, and semi-vivid metaphors that express the positioning of the actors concerning the changes underway in the sector.

In this article, the “Wonderland” metaphor proposed by Mc
Cabe in 2016 as an alternative way of analyzing organizations (“Organizations as Wonderland”) is “set in motion” to reveal the complex and paradoxical nature of a work organization. Based on the famous tale Alice's adventures in Wonderland (Carroll, 1865), the “Wonderland” metaphor guides the intervention research and allows the construction of a methodological design to be surprised and to shed light on the ambiguities and absurdities of an agile work organization. This methodological design is structured around three key propositions : 1) the discovery of researchers and practitioners ; 2) a reflective community with a variety of people and 3) the spirit of play. By moving away from the rational approaches of organizations, this metaphor makes it possible to arouse surprise, wonder, imagination, and development of new knowledge, and thus offers interesting perspectives for rethinking intervention research in management science.