Sound, silence, music: Organizing audible work settings

Abstract

Music is by and large an underexplored social resource in the organization theory framework. There is small but intriguing literature on the uses of music in organizations, stretching back to the days of the engineering revolution, and a body of texts examining the innovation of musical instruments, but music remains primarily a marginal phenomenon in organization theory. Drawing on a variety of literatures, this paper suggests that music plays a key role in creating possibilities for agency. Studies of the use of music in manufacturing settings and in retailing provide empirical evidence of how music is not detached from broader social interests and concerns but rather is a constitutive element in the social fabric. The paper concludes that music and the scholarly field of musicology are two domains to be further explored in organization theory and management studies.

Keywords:

• agency
• music
• musicology