Metanarrative

Andrew Smith

Chapter 108 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Historical Organisation Studies, 2026, pp 384-387 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Today, the concept of the metanarrative is widely used in academic research and, increasingly, in management and organization studies. This entry first explains what the term means, where it came from and how it became so widely used by academics. It then discusses some prominent examples of the construct metanarrative in use in management research papers. The historical origins and philosophic implications of this term are identified and the term's complicated relationship to postmodernism is critically analysed. The recent research in management strongly suggests that metanarratives remain a powerful force in social and economic activity, notwithstanding the claim that incredulity to metanarratives is a defining feature of the postmodern condition. The implications of this striking finding for the plausibility of postmodernism as a whole are also discussed.

Keywords: Postmodernism; History; Storytelling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035332922
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