Business History and the ‘Practical Turn’

Wilson, John; Tilba, Anna

Abstract

In addressing the urgent need for business historians to think about enhancing their relationships with practitioners, we advocate what we term a ‘Practical Turn’ (as opposed to a ‘historic turn’ or a ‘narrative turn’, as proposed by other scholars). This ‘Practical Turn’ is essential if the discipline is to gain greater credibility, especially in management and business schools where most business historians now reside. Building on Peirce’s two-stage typology about ‘playing’, the article addresses some of the challenges faced by business historians, providing evidence to demonstrate that the discipline has much to offer the various worlds of practice.

Citation

Wilson, J., & Tilba, A. (2023). Business History and the ‘Practical Turn’. Management and Organizational History, 18(1), 111-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449359.2023.2182322

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 15, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 26, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Feb 16, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 5, 2023
• Journal: Management & Organizational History
• Print ISSN: 1744-9359
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-9367
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 111-118
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17449359.2023.2182322
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1181746