The fact that the human body is a living and processual entity as well as an important one in organizing implies that the physical presence of organizational members is a relevant aspect within organizing. Its impact on the resulting power relations is of particular interest for alternative organizations. Specifically, the agentive character of flesh is central in the construing of organization’s invisible structures built by moving bodies. This paper presents an ethnographic study of a community garden. We argue that an organization where participation is voluntary and implies many bodily activities, paired with a method that has presence as a main characteristic is fitting for the endeavor. We find that an ethos that centers sensorial activities increases horizontality. Moreover, we find that the existence of a welcoming routine allows for the integration of new members in a way that the organization may produce sensitively rich experiences and give access to more power to newcomers. These findings are conditioned by power being coupled with physical presence in organizational activities.
Grand challenges such as climate change or poverty alleviation require sustained effort from multiple stakeholders toward a clearly articulated goal. Characterized by deeper complexity, uncertainty, and evaluativity, these challenges urge management scholars to engage in pragmatist minded research, especially to address shortcomings of the dominant theoretical perspective on corporate responses to grand challenges: stakeholder theory. In fact, a major pitfall of the stakeholder theory is its difficulty to deal with highly pluralist and complex environments, where stakeholders are not clearly identified or do not feel concerned. Drawing on John Dewey’s work, this article seeks to further develop the notion of commoning as a specific form of inquiry which leads to the conjoint emergence of a community of plural individuals and a vision of the common good. Departing from an abstract and transcendental vision of the common good, our empirical case on the Incredible Edible movement sheds light on this processual conception of the common good.
