This is a special issue of Cadernos EBAPE.BR dedicated to Epistemology, organized by Professor Mauricio Serva based on the “International Colloquium on Epistemology and Sociology of Management Science”, an important event held in Brazil in 2017. The colloquium sought to advance the scientific field of management in Brazil and it was supported by leading Brazilian scholars such as Fernando Guilherme Tenório and Francisco Gabriel Heidemann, who have been working on issues related to Sociology and Philosophy and their interfaces with Public and Business Administration.
Grounded on recent studies, the colloquium presented five research trends in administration studies, as shown by Maurício Serva in the article “Epistemology and Sociology of Administration”, published in Cadernos EBAPE.BR (see 14, n. 1, p.1, 2016):
The first is the confirmation of the critical inclination of administration epistemology within this applied social science, giving continuity to an option outlined at the beginning of this specific epistemology in the 1980s. The second is the enrichment of these critical approaches through the renewal of its bases, reaffirming what is happening in other sciences, i.e., the weakening of the criticism that was based on the so-called “main narratives”. The third trend is expressed by the intense exchange of knowledge with other sciences and disciplines, providing advances for administration science and also for these disciplines.
The fourth trend observed is the interest in deepening the debate on the philosophical, historical and scientific roots of the knowledge produced so far in administration. This tendency brings to administration field several studies in which authors do not only criticize/denounce the science posed, but go further and risk proposing new ways of analyzing, conceiving and experiencing the phenomena related to administration and to organizations. The fifth trend presented at the colloquium was the presentation of epistemological analysis of the knowledge produced in several specific areas of administration, such as strategy, finance and marketing, which diversifies the potential of administration epistemology.
It is worth emphasizing here the fourth trend, which is the epistemological line defended by scholars such as Maurício Serva, Fernando Tenório and Francisco Heidemann, as well as other academics throughout Brazil. These scholars’ thoughts and ideas were debated at the Colloquium, and Cadernos EBAPE.BR dedicated some special issues to them. This trend is in line with the will to deepen the knowledge and the debate about the philosophical, historical and scientific roots of the knowledge produced in administration, a line of thought also highly valued all over the world.
Examples are The European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) and the journal Organization Studies; the historical division between Administration and Critical Studies of the Academy of Management; the Association pour l’Développement de l’Enseignement in Responsabilite Sociale de l’Entreprise (ADERSE - France), which deals with social, humanistic and philosophical issues linked to Administration (which is an applied social science).
In order to contribute to these studies, the work by Fernando Guilherme Tenório Uma Alternativa: Gestão Social (Social management as an alternative), is highlighted here. The author shows the importance of recognizing democracy nowadays (and the democratic debate of scientific ideas in the Academia is part of the efforts in this direction).
On the republican view, politics is constitutive for the socialization process as a whole. Politics is understood as a way of reflecting a complex Ethical life (as in Hegel). It is the means by which members of solidarity communities of a more or less natural character become aware of their mutual dependence, and willingly and conscientiously, carry out these relations of reciprocal recognition, transforming them into an association of people who hold free and equal rights (TENORIO, 2016, p. 31).
In the (re)construction of an ethical country at this historical moment in Brazil, these are crucial reflections and it is indispensable to fulfill our role as editors of a scientific journal and guarantee the free debate of ideas. In this context, we highlight the reflections of Deltan Dallagnol in his work Luta Contra a Corrupção (Fight against corruption), and emphasize the lucid hope he seeks to convey to citizens.
The book Mercure et Minerve: Perspectives Philosophiques sur l’Entreprise, by Yvon Pesqueux, Bernard Ramanantsoa, Alain Saudan and Jean-Claude Tournand, shows, through the recovery of studies of Plato, Aristotle, Stoic philosophy, Spinoza, Kant Bergson, Hans Jonas, Habermas and Apel and Levinas, how Philosophy can be the basis of the reflection that structures the current dialogue and action in organizations. This proves the fourth trend of reflection presented by Maurício Serva and debated at the Colloquium.
In L’Entreprise Durable et le Changement Organisaionnel: L’Organisation Innovatrice et Durable, by Yvon Pesqueux, Eric Simon and Isabella Vasconcelos, a book that presents a reflection on the European reality and also on the Brazilian reality regarding sustainable innovation and social management and inclusion, it is possible to observe a great research effort in the direction proposed by Maurício Serva in the Colloquium, that is, the fourth trend.
It is important to emphasize the efforts of several research centers in this direction, such as Transformare (www.transformare.adm.br); the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche Amerique Latine Europe (CERALE); among others.
Thus, this issue of Cadernos EBAPE.BR is one of the several initiatives dedicated to the important reflection on Epistemology, Sociology and Administration.
Maurício Serva will present this special issue and the articles.
We wish you a pleasant read and happy holidays!
Isabella F. Freitas Gouveia de VasconcelosHélio Artur Reis Irigaray
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
Dec 2017
