The Truth about Social Construction in Administrative Science

Abstract

A great deal of confusion exists about social construction and what it means for administrative and organizational scientists. Eighteen years ago, W. Graham Astley (1985) argued that administrative science is a subjective social artifact rather than a body of objective scientific truths. With the help of contemporary works of John Searle, Alvin Goldman, and Ian Hacking, we distinguish what is correct from what is mistaken in Astley's and other similar social construction theses. In particular, we argue that just because administrative theories are socially constructed and subject to continued structuration, it does not follow that they are precluded from speaking correctly about the world of objects and events. That is, the fact that organization theory is socially constructed is compatible with its truth and objectivity.

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