We are adrift because the theories that we have come
to know so well either do not point us to questions that
appear to be worth answering, or they do not serve us
well when we bring them to bear on the questions that do
grab our attention. With no new perspectives to reorient
us, we muddle along. This is not to say that our theories
have been inconsequential. On the contrary, once
we situate our theories in their historical context, we
can see immediately how they emerged to take stock of
the key business changes triggered by the Management
Revolution. We can also see how our research enterprise
began to lose its immediacy once the changes wrought
by the post–World War II revolution were consolidated,
and when our 40-year research effort to understand them
bore its fruit. We will first place the prolific theorizing
of the last quarter-century in historical context and then
move to consider what this awareness might mean for
our research future.