Alistair Mutch

Nottingham Trent University, Human Resource Management, Faculty Member

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I am Professor of Information and Learning with a particular interest in the notion of information literacy in the context of ICT-enabled organizational systems. I am particularly interested in the application of ideas from critical realism to this domain, and to organizational theory more generally. I also have interests in the history of management, particularly as these relate to church governance practices, and in the history of architecture, particularly as related to changes in administrative practice.

Please look at the websites for links to more details, especially to my own pages where I can tell you more about forthcoming and current work

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Papers by Alistair Mutch

“Decently and order”: Scotland and Protestant pastoral power

Critical Research on Religion, Nov 3, 2016

Foucault's conceptualization of "pastoral power" is important in the development and application ... more Foucault's conceptualization of "pastoral power" is important in the development and application of the notion of "governmentality", or the regulation of mass populations. However, Foucault's exploration of pastoral power, especially in the form of confessional practice, owes a good deal to his Roman Catholic heritage. Hints in his work, which were never developed, suggest some aspects of Protestant forms of pastoral power. These hints are taken up to explore one Protestant tradition, that of Scottish Presbyterianism, in detail. Based on the history of the church in the eighteenth century, four aspects of Protestant pastoral power are outlined: examination, accountability, ecclesiology, and organizing as a good in its own right.

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Defining Institutions: Taking History Seriously

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015

This paper suggests an alternative list of institutions to that commonly encountered in the liter... more This paper suggests an alternative list of institutions to that commonly encountered in the literature on institutional logics. This is done as a response to calls for greater clarity about basic terms. The resources of history are drawn upon to formulate the suggested candidates for the status of institution, with brief outlines for each of some key attributes. It is argued that the proposed specification would enhance the possibilities for comparative analysis.

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Margaret Archer and a morphogenetic take on strategy

Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Dec 1, 2020

The morphogenetic framework developed by the social theorist Margaret Archer is outlined in order... more The morphogenetic framework developed by the social theorist Margaret Archer is outlined in order to suggest what it might bring to the study of strategy. It is contrasted to practice-based approaches, notably those associated with the work of Richard Whittington and the domain of strategy as practice. Archer's work provides a non-deterministic approach which enables the situating of moments of strategic practice in a wider context. Its stress on agential reflexivity opens up interesting lines of inquiry, not least on the language of strategizing facilitated and encouraged by the multinational corporation. The approach needs to pay more attention to practices, notably organizational routines, but it offers rich resources to the student of organizational strategy.

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Strategic and Organizational Change

Peasants, agriculture and organizations

International Journal of Organizational Analysis

Purpose It has been argued that scholars in management and organization studies (MOS) need to tak... more Purpose It has been argued that scholars in management and organization studies (MOS) need to take the peasantry into account in their work. This study aims to address the complexity revealed by these arguments, suggesting that one needs clearer definitions and an appreciation of the complexities of historical development if one is to gain appreciation of the impaction of agriculture more generally on MOS. Design/methodology/approach This study uses historical material to develop a conceptual argument that challenges the homogenous nature of the peasantry. It uses a detailed contrast between two peasant groups in 19th and early 20th century Scotland to suggest divergent patterns of development. Findings Paying closer attention to definitions and historical development indicates that, as well as the survival of so-called archaic practices alongside highly developed agriculture, the main impact of agriculture on MOS might be the legitimacy it accords, as a cultural resource, to partic...

Writing the history of practices

Historical Organization Studies, 2020

Presbyterian governances in practice: Monymusk 1790–1825

Scottish Church History, 2013

Europe, the British Empire and the Madeira Trade: Catholicism, Commerce and the Gordon of Letterfourie Network c.1730–c.1800

Northern Scotland, 2016

British merchants dominated the trade in wine from the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira in t... more British merchants dominated the trade in wine from the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira in the eighteenth century. David Hancock has calculated that within their number, 29 per cent in 1768 were of Scottish origin. 1 One such merchant house was that of the Gordons of Letterfourie in Banffshire. An examination of their business activities suggests a number of ways in which Madeira was a key node in a number of networks with significance for our understanding of the place of eighteenth century Scots in the construction of Britain and its Empire. Geographically, Madeira was an important crossroads in trade networks. In an era of sailing ships, the direction of prevailing winds made Madeira a natural and important stopping off place for ships heading from Britain to both the Americas and to India. Ships put in at Madeira to take on fresh provisions and to pick up Madeira wine. This geographical position also gave the island strategic importance to the Royal Navy. This was supported by the long history of political alliances between Britain and Portugal. 2 Stemming from English alliances in the fourteenth century, treaties of 1654 and 1703 gave English, and later Scottish and Irish, merchants access to Portuguese markets. Portugal gained support in preserving her independence while the Royal Navy could access servicing ports on both the Iberian mainland and on Atlantic islands. In turn, Madeira came to occupy an important part in linking existing European patterns of trade with the new opportunities offered by the Americas and India. Given the historic orientation of Scottish trade to Scandinavia, the Baltic and the Netherlands, Scottish merchants were in a good position to draw on connections forged there. The experience of the Gordons of Letterfourie thus lends some support to the argument of Stephen Conway that we 1

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Administrative practices and the ‘middling sort’: place, practice and identity in eighteenth-century rural England

People, Places and Identities, 2017

Alistair Mutch examines administrative practices in eighteenth century rural parishes, using the ... more Alistair Mutch examines administrative practices in eighteenth century rural parishes, using the evidence of churchwardens’ records from the Deanery of Bingham, Nottinghamshire, complemented by details of parish life from contemporary diaries. Churchwardens were part of the ‘middling sort’, elite parish office holders whose freedom in devising their own administrative practices meant patterns of accountability often varied considerably between parishes. These practices depended much on the personal character of the office holder, whose degree of local autonomy reproduced a very ‘Anglican form of authority’. Churchwardens’ stewardship of money and conduct of accounts meetings had a personal, sociable dimension which contrasted with the rigorous, disciplined ‘forms of accountability’ associated with kirk sessions in Scotland during the same period, and these distinctive patterns of administrative order deserve greater attention, because of their potential to offer new perspectives on ...

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Crofts and Crofters: Definitions, Derivations and Consequences

The Scottish Historical Review

The historical derivation, development and diffusion of the terms ‘croft’ and ‘crofter’ are explo... more The historical derivation, development and diffusion of the terms ‘croft’ and ‘crofter’ are explored in the light of the argument that their translation into Gaelic casts doubt on the existence of a ‘crofting community’ in the late nineteenth century. Tracing the use of the terms indicates transmission of the terms ‘croft’ and ‘toft’ into Lowland Scotland from England in the medieval period. Translated into the farming practices of Lowland Scotland, this saw the term ‘croft’ widely applied to the infield of the fermtouns. The early eighteenth century saw the rise of the term ‘crofter’ in the north-east of the country. The association with high-quality land and the place of the croft in the graduated farming system that emerged gave both terms a degree of status, with crofters in particular being part of a rich set of cultural practices. As Highland tenurial practices changed, so the terms ‘croft’ and ‘crofter’ were imported through the agency of those influenced by Lowland practices...

Religion and accounting texts in eighteenth century Scotland

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which Scottish pre-eminence in acc... more Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which Scottish pre-eminence in accounting texts in the eighteenth century was influenced by religion. By so doing, to add to the literature on the relationship between religion and accountability.Design/methodology/approach– An examination of religion as social practice is conducted by examining the relationship between formal, printed, sources and the extensive archives of the Church of Scotland. A sample of five administrative units of the church is used to explore local practice in detail.Findings– Accountability was at the heart of the theology of the Church of Scotland. It shaped local practices of accountability to give what is termed “systemic accountability”, which featured the detailed specification of roles and the recording of transactions. Lay involvement in this system was extensive amongst the “middling sort”. This system formed the backdrop to the Scottish pre-eminence in accounting texts, facilitated by w...

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Christopher Routledge. Cains: The Story of Liverpool in a Pint. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2008

The design of Liverpool pubs in the nineteenth century

breweryhistory.com

Bernstein, Basil

The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory

Challenging Community: Logic or Context?

Organization Theory

In their 2012 book The Institutional Logics Perspective, Patricia Thornton, William Ocasio and Mi... more In their 2012 book The Institutional Logics Perspective, Patricia Thornton, William Ocasio and Michael Lounsbury proposed the addition of community as a logic to more traditional candidates such as religion and family. This article argues that an examination of the wider sociological and historical literature indicates that community is indeed an important category of analysis, but as the context shaping action rather than as a logic. The literature that Thornton, Ocasio and Lounsbury draw on tends to conflate community as a form of informal social structure with community as geographically bounded space. Using Friedland’s characterization of logics as a combination of substance and practices, I argue that community lacks the coherence necessary to function as a logic. While community remains an important part of our conceptual armoury, I argue that as well as being aware of the connotations of the term it may be more productive to consider it as the context in which logics are rece...

Power, culture and information

The Limits of Logics

Reframing Institutional Logics, 2018

Practices

Reframing Institutional Logics, 2018

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Institutions

Reframing Institutional Logics, 2018

Roles,responsibilities and change

“Decently and order”: Scotland and Protestant pastoral power

Critical Research on Religion, Nov 3, 2016

Download

Defining Institutions: Taking History Seriously

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015

Download

Margaret Archer and a morphogenetic take on strategy

Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Dec 1, 2020

Download

Strategic and Organizational Change

Peasants, agriculture and organizations

International Journal of Organizational Analysis

Writing the history of practices

Historical Organization Studies, 2020

Presbyterian governances in practice: Monymusk 1790–1825

Scottish Church History, 2013

Europe, the British Empire and the Madeira Trade: Catholicism, Commerce and the Gordon of Letterfourie Network c.1730–c.1800

Northern Scotland, 2016

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Administrative practices and the ‘middling sort’: place, practice and identity in eighteenth-century rural England

People, Places and Identities, 2017

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Crofts and Crofters: Definitions, Derivations and Consequences

The Scottish Historical Review

Religion and accounting texts in eighteenth century Scotland

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2016

Download

Christopher Routledge. Cains: The Story of Liverpool in a Pint. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2008

The design of Liverpool pubs in the nineteenth century

breweryhistory.com

Bernstein, Basil

The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory

Challenging Community: Logic or Context?

Organization Theory

Power, culture and information

The Limits of Logics

Reframing Institutional Logics, 2018

Practices

Reframing Institutional Logics, 2018

Download

Institutions

Reframing Institutional Logics, 2018

Roles,responsibilities and change

Tiger Duff: India, Madeira and Empire in Eighteenth-Century Scotland

Wounded in battle, ringleader of an officers’ mutiny, survivor of a mauling by a tiger, candidate... more Wounded in battle, ringleader of an officers’ mutiny, survivor of a mauling by a tiger, candidate in a Parliamentary by-election – Patrick ‘Tiger’ Duff (1742-1803) had an eventful life. The son of a Speyside tenant farmer, he rose to the rank of General in the East India Company army and retired to a country estate near Turriff. He made a fortune in India, in part because of his family connections with the Gordons of Letterfourie. James and Alexander Gordon were successful wine merchants in Madeira. They not only provided for Patrick’s education, but also employed his brothers James and Robert in the wine trade. In turn, Patrick was able to win business for the partnership amongst the hard-drinking British in India. Scottish merchants, such as the Gordons, were an important part of the British merchant community in Madeira. Wealth from both sources, the empire of conquest in India and the empire of commerce exemplified by Madeira, flowed back into Scotland and fuelled the process of agricultural improvement.

Alistair Mutch

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