Defining the role of metaphor in organization studies

This chapter defines the concept of metaphor in the field of organization studies. The author distinguishes between linguistic, cognitive, and cultural dimensions, and elaborates how alone or together these different dimensions have given rise to different streams of research in the organization field. Besides providing an overview of past work, the author calls for more reflexivity among academics, policy-makers, and other stakeholders of organizations. The role of metaphor in contemporary management and policy making often goes unnoticed, and more debate and discussion of the metaphorical roots of many ideas is badly needed-ideally before a new metaphor has become institutionalized.