Amodern and modern warfare in the making of a commercial airline

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the impact of warfare, gender, and memory on the development of Imperial Airways (British Airways’ predecessor airline). Through a ‘close reading’ of archival materials and published histories, we examine how wartime experience prior, during, and following World War I came to shape the development of gendered organizational processes and practices in the airline’s emergent organizational culture from 1924–1939. Gender is theorized from a feminist poststructuralist position serving to problematize singular notions of power. Analysis of culture is explored through an ANTi-History and microhistorical approach revealing how history is produced and constitutes the ‘sense’ of organization. We examine how references to warfare are introduced into the narratives of Imperial Airways and its predecessor airlines, how warfare is utilized in the airline’s historical accounts, and how this influences our understanding of gender over time. Findings suggest two key aspects of memory at play. Memory of warfare is more embedded in cultural practices (e.g. piloting as male only) and symbolism (e.g. military-style pilots’ uniforms) than in extant narratives of the time. However, despite the Women’s Royal Air Force in 1918 and exploits of pre-war female flyers, women’s role in warfare was largely forgotten at all levels of the airline.

KEYWORDS:

• Airlines
• feminism
• historiography
• imperialism
• organizational history
• qualitative data
• United Kingdom
• warfare
• archival data
• World War I

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was made possible by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [General Research Grant #435-2013-0490].

Notes on contributors

Nicholous M. Deal

Nicholous M. Deal is a PhD candidate in Business Administration (Management) at the Sobey School of Business, an executive administrator of a local faith-based non-profit organization and serves on community boards of directors in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has taught a variety of undergraduate courses both in management and communication studies, ranging from strategic compensation to research methods in public relations. Over the past two years Nick has presented his work at several international conferences and authored or co-authored publications focused on critical historiography, gender and diversity, and leadership.

Albert J. Mills

Albert J. Mills is Professor of Innovation at the University of Eastern Finland. He is the author/editor of over 40 books and numerous articles on gender, history and organizational analysis. His more recent books include an anthology of his work: Insights and Research on the study of Gender and Intersectionality in International Airline Cultures. Bingley: Emerald, 2017; an edited collection on Ageing, Organizations and management: Constructive discourses and critical perspectives: London: Palgrave, 2017; and The Routledge Companion to Management & Organizational History, London: Routledge. Albert is currently the co-chair of the International Board of Critical Management Studies and Co-editor of the international journal Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management.

Jean Helms Mills

Jean Helms Mills is a Professor of Management at Saint Mary’s University, International Reader at The Swedish School of Social Sciences-University of Helsinki and a Docent at Jyväskylä University and The University of Eastern Finland. She has been a Senior Research Fellow at Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, since 2008. Her work on historiography, critical sensemaking, gender, culture and change has been presented at numerous conferences and published in various journals. Jean is Co- Editor of Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Associate Editor for ‘Gender, Work and Organization’ and past divisional Co-Chair of the Critical Management Studies Division of The Academy of Management.