Navigating Place: Extending perspectives on place in organization studies

Abstract

We draw upon the metaphor of navigation to rethink how we think about place. We highlight three extensions that dominate current place-sensitive organizational research. We draw upon a set of six important papers published in Organization Studies that showcase the diversity, multiplicity and multidimensionality of place. The studies we select highlight three important movements in the study of place – from stable to dynamic, from physical to polymorphic, and from neutral to political. In doing so, they serve as a compass to guide our thinking and research on how place is created, negotiated and experienced.