Practice Theory, Work, and Organization

What are practice theories? Where do they come from? What do they say? Do they offer something new to the study of work and organization? Practice theories are a set of conceptual tools and methodologies for investigating, analysing, and representing everyday practice. They develop the idea that phenomena such as knowledge, meaning, science, power, organized activity, sociality, and institutions are rooted in practice. The volume provides a rigorous yet accessible introduction to this emerging area of study. Recognizing that a unified theory of practice does not exist, the book surveys the main scholarly traditions that have, collectively, contributed to the practice turn in social and organization studies. Each chapter examines the main assumptions and concepts of these traditions, discussing their distinctive contribution to work and organization studies. The chapters are accompanied by a fully worked example of how the theory can be applied to empirical research, making the text suitable for teaching purposes. The book will constitute a valuable resource for researchers and graduate students in organization studies and management, and scholars across disciplines who are interested to know more about the topic. Nicolinis superb overview of practice theory offers original descriptions of different practice approaches and deftly sorts out this tangled theoretical terrain. The book innovates methodologically in illustrating the different approaches with the same case study, thereby nicely substantiating his thesis that empirical researchers best draw on practice theory by using different practice approaches in combination. The text is highly recommended to curious social scientists at large and not just to scholars of work and organization. Theodore Schatzki, University of Kentucky This book has all the marks of Davide Nicolini's scholarship: theoretical depth and empirical subtlety. Several speak or write about the relevance of practice theory for the study of organizations, but few attempt to creatively link practice theory to particular philosophical traditions and social theory at large, and work out its theoretical-cum-methodological implications for organization studies. Nicolini is one of those few. If you are looking for a single book to do both things for you, namely to provide a sophisticated guide to practice theory and show how to conduct empirical research from a practice theory perspective, this is the book to read. Nicolini does a masterful job: he tells us what practice theory is, where it comes from, and how to put it to work in organization studies. It is a brilliant achievement. Haridimos Tsoukas, University of Cyprus and University of Warwick Practice Theory, Work, and Organization is a major contribution to the resources available for scholars who want to understand or use practice theory. By providing clear discussions of the multiple strands of social theory underlying practice theory and utilizing these in his rolling case, Nicolini demystifies practice theory and illustrates its potential as a way of studying work and organizations. The final chapter provides a thoughtful discussion of a methodological approach involving zooming in and zooming out that Nicolini advocates as a way of engaging these multiple perspectives on studying practice. The books breadth makes it valuable both for newcomers to the field and for those who have been in this field for some time. Martha S. Feldman, University of California, Irvine Deep and broad, argumentative and pluralistic, theoretical and methodological, this is a landmark book. For the growing community of practice-orientated scholars in organization studies, Davide Nicolini provides the go-to resource. Richard Whittington, Professor of Strategic Management at Said Business School and Millman Fellow in Management at New College, Oxford1. Introduction ; 2. Praxis and Practice Theory: A Brief Historical Overview ; 3. Praxeology and the Work of Giddens and Bourdieu ; 4. Practice as Tradition and Community ; 5. Practice as Activity ; 6. Practice as Accomplishment ; 7. Practice as the House of the Social: Contemporary Developments of the Heideggerian and Wittgensteinian Traditions ; 8. Discourse and Practice ; 9. Bringing it All Together: a Toolkit to Study and Represent Practice at Work