The Persistence of Management Ideas

The popularity of management ideas varies according to time and place, as exemplified by the term ‘management fashion’, but only a small number of ideas appear to stay on the scene for a long period of time. Using the example of the still durable idea ‘Lean’, the authors argue that repeated (re)framing of a management idea is an important driver for its persistence. The way the interpretive space of ideas is created, used, and continuously reframed is key to their resilience or disappearance, and needs to be understood by change managers as well as academics interested in their flow and impact.