Abstract
In the six decades since ASQ began publication in 1956, organizations have changed dramatically, from the postwar corporate hierarchies populated by men in gray flannel suits to the contemporary gig economy. The prototypical job in the U.S. has shifted from the assembly line to virtual work groups and the on-demand driver. Organizational scholarship has grown to be a vast multinational enterprise involving tens of thousands of scholars, and the number of journals grows every year to accommodate their work.
To commemorate ASQ’s 60th year, we will be publishing essays by several of ASQ’s previous editors, who were asked to respond to an editorial essay I wrote last year titled “What Is Organizational Research For?” (http://asq.sagepub.com/content/60/2/179.abstract). The essays address a broad set of questions about the purpose of organizational research, how it should be done, whether it cumulates, and what role journals can and should play in guiding the field’s progress. Our first essay, in this issue, is by former editor Steve Barley, titled “Ruminations on How We Became a Mystery House and How We Might Get Out.” We hope these essays will spark further conversation in the field.