Knowledge Production in Organization Development: An Interiority-based Perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Contemporary social science philosophy is bedevilled with debates about the nature of knowledge production. This article introduces the philosophical notion of interiority whereby, by focusing on the operations of knowledge production in the human mind, OD scholars and researchers can ground Modes 1 and 2 in a bigger picture of what is common to all research. This perspective which recognizes different ways of knowing in different situations cuts through the polarized differences between Modes 1 and 2. Rather than looking at what is different between them this article explores their complementarity through an interiority-based OD research framework. MAD statement This article focuses on how knowledge is produced in the field of organization development (OD). Mode 1 produces knowledge in a disciplinary context and aims at producing scientific knowledge. Mode 2 focuses on creating knowledge for practical use through a partnership between researchers and practitioners. Both modes are valuable for managers and OD practitioners for how they contribute to knowledge production. A comprehensive framework based on six macrophases in OD knowledge production is advanced by focusing on kind of knowledge that is needed for what purpose (an activity of the human mind which we call interiority).