Ephemera: theory & politics in organization, May 1, 2021
In this paper we study the strategies through which Emmanuel Macron was able to emerge as a hegem... more In this paper we study the strategies through which Emmanuel Macron was able to emerge as a hegemonic leader in French politics in the context of the populist moment. In particular, we analyse (1) Macron’s interventions that contributed to redraw the political map and renew the establishment, as well as (2) how some of those interventions focused on building his digital movement-party LaREM through personalisation. Drawing on Laclau, we emphasise how, for political leaders, politics is about boldly adapting to contingency¬ – and we use Machiavelli’s concept of virtù to illuminate how Macron adopted these strategies in his rise to power. We contribute to the power and leadership literature by showing how, through virtù, a leadership practice can emerge and become hegemonic. Relatedly, we contribute to the political organising literature by suggesting how the digital movement-party En Marche! (later La République En Marche) and its alternating opening and closing was used strategically in Macron’s conquest of power. Thus, we illuminate how a movement-party was used instrumentally for a highly personalised conquest of power. Finally, we make a theoretical contribution by suggesting how Machiavelli and Laclau can be combined in order to understand the populist moment: as a political space full of contingency in which Machiavellian insights are relevant to understand how leaders seize opportunities; and from a Laclauian perspective, as a space of opportunity for some of the virtù interventions to make a hegemonic project successful
In this paper we investigate how different discourses on frugal innovation are articulated, and h... more In this paper we investigate how different discourses on frugal innovation are articulated, and how the dynamics between these different discourses have led to a certain dominant understanding of frugal innovation today. We analyse the dynamic interactions between three discourses on frugal innovation: (1) innovations for the poor, (2) grassroots innovations by the poor, and more recently (3) co-creating frugal innovations with the poor. We argue that this latter discourse is articulated as a hegemonic project as it is designed to accommodate demands from both business and poor communities. We draw on Laclau and Mouffe’s concepts of ‘chain of difference’, ‘empty signifier’ and ‘floating signifier’ to explain the advent of the hegemonic discourse on co-creating innovations with the poor. We show how a floating signifier with radical potential, frugal innovation, has been hijacked and co-opted in a hegemonic project that has leveraged powerful ambiguous signifiers, with co-creation ac...
End-of-term editorial : On (Scandinavian) management studies: What works, what doesn't, and w... more End-of-term editorial : On (Scandinavian) management studies: What works, what doesn't, and what can we do better?
Ephemera: theory & politics in organization, May 1, 2021
In this paper we study the strategies through which Emmanuel Macron was able to emerge as a hegem... more In this paper we study the strategies through which Emmanuel Macron was able to emerge as a hegemonic leader in French politics in the context of the populist moment. In particular, we analyse (1) Macron’s interventions that contributed to redraw the political map and renew the establishment, as well as (2) how some of those interventions focused on building his digital movement-party LaREM through personalisation. Drawing on Laclau, we emphasise how, for political leaders, politics is about boldly adapting to contingency¬ – and we use Machiavelli’s concept of virtù to illuminate how Macron adopted these strategies in his rise to power. We contribute to the power and leadership literature by showing how, through virtù, a leadership practice can emerge and become hegemonic. Relatedly, we contribute to the political organising literature by suggesting how the digital movement-party En Marche! (later La République En Marche) and its alternating opening and closing was used strategically in Macron’s conquest of power. Thus, we illuminate how a movement-party was used instrumentally for a highly personalised conquest of power. Finally, we make a theoretical contribution by suggesting how Machiavelli and Laclau can be combined in order to understand the populist moment: as a political space full of contingency in which Machiavellian insights are relevant to understand how leaders seize opportunities; and from a Laclauian perspective, as a space of opportunity for some of the virtù interventions to make a hegemonic project successful
In this paper we investigate how different discourses on frugal innovation are articulated, and h... more In this paper we investigate how different discourses on frugal innovation are articulated, and how the dynamics between these different discourses have led to a certain dominant understanding of frugal innovation today. We analyse the dynamic interactions between three discourses on frugal innovation: (1) innovations for the poor, (2) grassroots innovations by the poor, and more recently (3) co-creating frugal innovations with the poor. We argue that this latter discourse is articulated as a hegemonic project as it is designed to accommodate demands from both business and poor communities. We draw on Laclau and Mouffe’s concepts of ‘chain of difference’, ‘empty signifier’ and ‘floating signifier’ to explain the advent of the hegemonic discourse on co-creating innovations with the poor. We show how a floating signifier with radical potential, frugal innovation, has been hijacked and co-opted in a hegemonic project that has leveraged powerful ambiguous signifiers, with co-creation ac...
End-of-term editorial : On (Scandinavian) management studies: What works, what doesn't, and w... more End-of-term editorial : On (Scandinavian) management studies: What works, what doesn't, and what can we do better?
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Papers by Martin Fougère