ABSTRACT
The previous two chapters explored dimensions ‘internal’ to a consultancy that play a role in shaping the ‘social life’ of a commodity. But how do knowledge entrepreneurs ‘practice’ the management ideas they preach? In this chapter I will zoom in on external dimensions and in particular how consultants understand the enactment of commodifi ed forms of management knowledge in relation to their assignments. This is relevant because it allows further insight into the way ideas are appropriated, enacted, and adapted beyond their moment of exchange and how these activities feed into the ongoing processes of producing and dislocating management knowledge (Heusinkveld et al., 2011), or as Kopytoff stressed, ‘the fact that an object is bought or exchanged says nothing about its subsequent status and whether it will remain a commodity or not’ (1986: 76). Therefore this chapter may contribute to addressing a wider central concern in management research about the possible impact of these commodifi ed forms of management knowledge on management and organizational practice (Clark, 2004; Røvik, 2011; Sturdy, 2004, 2011).
