Actor-network theory

César Tureta and Rafael Alcadipani

Chapter 1 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Historical Organisation Studies, 2026, pp 7-11 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Actor-network theory (ANT) investigates how actors create and maintain associations that shape social and organisational ordering, challenging traditional distinctions between actors and networks and stressing their performative relations. ANT has been used in management and organisation studies to investigate various topics such as organisational history. This approach was criticised for political neutrality, so it evolved to address power relations and silenced actors whose stories are sometimes marginalised. ANT shows the contingent and constructed nature of organisational realities and history, highlighting that these could be otherwise.

Keywords: Actor-network theory; Translation; Organisational history; Materiality; Politics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035332922
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