Charting Managerial Reading Preferences in Relation to Popular Management Theory Books A Semiotic Analysis

Popular management theories are a prominent fixture of the contemporary American business landscape. Past research regarding these theories has focused on what drives interest in a particular theory. This reader-based study departs from this tradition and focuses instead on how managers report they...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of business communication (1973) Vol. 42; no. 4; pp. 420 - 448
Main Authors Pagel, Sonya, Westerfelhaus, Robert
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2005
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Business writing
Management theory
Managerial skills
Semiotics
Studies
Trade publications
popular management theory
managerial reading
business best sellers
semiotics
business writing
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Summary:Popular management theories are a prominent fixture of the contemporary American business landscape. Past research regarding these theories has focused on what drives interest in a particular theory. This reader-based study departs from this tradition and focuses instead on how managers report they prefer to read the books used to promote popular management theories. Through a semiotic analysis of data gathered from surveys administered to and interviews conducted with 22 managers, this study identifies the main features and charts the organizing principles of the rules that guide managerial reading preferences, identifies influences shaping these rules, and points out how enactment of these rules influences the acquisition of knowledge about popular management theories.
ISSN:0021-9436
2329-4884
1552-4582
2329-4892
DOI:10.1177/0021943605276803