Expertise In and Around Organizations

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online.

Expertise In and Around Organizations explores the shifting ecology of expertise in an era where the authority of traditional domain experts is increasingly challenged, yet expertise remains indispensable. Organizations rely more than ever on expertise to tackle some of society’s most urgent and complex challenges. But how does expertise function when it is no longer solely authorized by rationalist or scientific foundations or traditional domain experts?

Bringing together a group of scholars from diverse disciplines and approaches, this volume examines the evolving ecology of expertise and the competition for recognition among its many forms. In two distinct sections, the book expands traditional conceptualizations of expertise. The first section highlights overlooked, emergent, and undervalued forms of expertise that work alongside rationalist, scientific forms of expertise to produce impactful interventions. The second section delves into the roles of intermediaries, allies, laypeople, and audiences in shaping how expertise is recognized and organized within this expanding ecology.

Together, these chapters push the boundaries of how we understand expertise in and around organizations and move beyond conventional notions of domain expertise. In an age of misinformation, new technologies, emerging media, and shifting job roles, this collection is essential for scholars of management, organization studies, sociology, and anyone interested in the evolving landscapes of knowledge and authority.