Studying Work Practices in Organizations: Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Guidelines

Abstract

A recent practice turn in the communication and organizational sciences has led many researchers to study work in practice. In this chapter I suggest that studies of work practices in organizations would benefit from conceptual clarification. To do so, I organize this review around three central questions: (a) what are work practices? (b) what role do work practices play in the process of organizing? and (c) how can scholars build theory from empirical studies of work practices? I suggest several ways in which the concept of work practice can be clarified to provide coherence for communication researchers.