Papers by Charles-Clemens Rüling
Recent research has pointed to the challenge facing recurrent field-configuring events (FCEs)
in ... more Recent research has pointed to the challenge facing recurrent field-configuring events (FCEs)
in trying to remain dominant in their fields over sustained periods. Based on a revelatory historical case study
of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the leading FCE in its field, this paper explores how a fieldconfiguring
role can be maintained over time. We focus specifically on the FCE organization, and highlight the
importance of critical transitions, relatively short periods of time when fundamental changes were made to its
formal and informal governance rules, which redefined the event’s identity and scope, and thus ensured it
remained the dominant event for field participants. In terms of the organizational dynamics facilitating critical
transitions, we emphasize the importance of conflict as a driver of change, as well as the particular role of local
stakeholders in renewing FCEs that are organized recurrently in the same location.
The existing literature on Chief Knowledge Officers (CKOs) focuses on individual characteristics ... more The existing literature on Chief Knowledge Officers (CKOs) focuses on individual characteristics and organizational context but fails to convincingly address the issue of process dynamics in terms of effective and ineffective CKO moves and strategies. In order to address this gap we review propositions from the management fashion, diffusion of innovations and issue selling literatures, and identify sets of effective and ineffective CKO process moves based on an empirical study of CKOs in large industrial and financial service companies in Germany and Switzerland. The paper proposes an agenda for future CKO research, and concludes with a set of guidelines for organizational practice.
Journal of Information Technology, 2001
Knowledge management has become a major trend since the mid-1990s. Different professional communi... more Knowledge management has become a major trend since the mid-1990s. Different professional communities, among them information systems/information technology (IS/IT) and more business managementoriented actors, have created strong conceptual ties with the idea of managing knowledge. This paper studies the structure and development of the knowledge management discourse over an 18-year period with an emphasis on the role of the IS/IT community in shaping this discourse. In order to do so, a content analysis of 434 article abstracts from the ABI/Inform database referring to 'knowledge management' was performed. The argument here is based on a theoretical framework derived from recent theorizing about popular management knowledge as fashion and it is assumed that different professional or 'speech communities' gathering around a concept such as knowledge management enter into competition for limited organizational resources. The paper's ndings show the co-existence of two distinct speech communities involved in the knowledge management debate, focusing on either IS/IT or general management issues and they support the idea that both communities engage in a joint effort at sustaining knowledge management as a fashion eld.
Scandinavian Journal of Management, 2010
Management & Avenir, 2010
Stress et stratégies d'ajustement. Analyse en situation de fusion-acquisition par Dominique Steil... more Stress et stratégies d'ajustement. Analyse en situation de fusion-acquisition par Dominique Steiler 12 et Charles-Clemens Rüling 13
Recently, fashion phenomena in the field of management have received growing attention by scholar... more Recently, fashion phenomena in the field of management have received growing attention by scholars and management practitioners alike. Much of the existing management fashion literature however operates without providing a clear conceptual and theoretical foundation. It tends to build on common-sense notions of fashion and overlooks the significant contributions in the sociological tradition of fashion theorizing. This paper aims at making a contribution to closing the 'theory gap' in the discussion of management fashion by presenting four of the major contributions to the sociological tradition of fashion theorizing. First, I briefly outline the fashion writings of Veblen, Blumer, Simmel, and Bourdieu. I then try to integrate the different theoretical positions in a discussion of fashion's double role for social change as well as for the reproduction of social structures. In the third section, I try to outline, which elements from the sociological fashion theories outlined in this paper should be included in the recent discussion of management fashion.
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Papers by Charles-Clemens Rüling
in trying to remain dominant in their fields over sustained periods. Based on a revelatory historical case study
of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the leading FCE in its field, this paper explores how a fieldconfiguring
role can be maintained over time. We focus specifically on the FCE organization, and highlight the
importance of critical transitions, relatively short periods of time when fundamental changes were made to its
formal and informal governance rules, which redefined the event’s identity and scope, and thus ensured it
remained the dominant event for field participants. In terms of the organizational dynamics facilitating critical
transitions, we emphasize the importance of conflict as a driver of change, as well as the particular role of local
stakeholders in renewing FCEs that are organized recurrently in the same location.
in trying to remain dominant in their fields over sustained periods. Based on a revelatory historical case study
of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the leading FCE in its field, this paper explores how a fieldconfiguring
role can be maintained over time. We focus specifically on the FCE organization, and highlight the
importance of critical transitions, relatively short periods of time when fundamental changes were made to its
formal and informal governance rules, which redefined the event’s identity and scope, and thus ensured it
remained the dominant event for field participants. In terms of the organizational dynamics facilitating critical
transitions, we emphasize the importance of conflict as a driver of change, as well as the particular role of local
stakeholders in renewing FCEs that are organized recurrently in the same location.