Communicative Property
Redefining Capitalism at an Interdisciplinary Crossroads
Will be published approx. on 31. July 2026
180 pages
E-Book
978-1-040-53038-2 (ISBN)
Description
Communicative Property explores the concept of property from a communicative, rather than economic and legal, perspective.
As a point of departure, the book engages with both organizational studies and social theory to point out that economic and legal views of property have dominated conversations over the notion since Marx. The author argues that the role of property in shaping organizations and configuring work relationships is poorly understood, as property, being traditionally defined exclusively through an economic and legal lens, fails to account for the diversity of ways in which it is expressed every day within and around organizations. Revealing property's organizing power, the author suggests, requires adopting a communicative lens to property, situating it in the daily interactions through which organizations are created, changed, and undone.
Firmly positioning capitalism as a communication phenomenon, this book will be of relevance to scholars looking for an observable and actionable entry point to formulate a critique of capitalism, by offering them a communicative approach to one of its main mechanisms: property.
As a point of departure, the book engages with both organizational studies and social theory to point out that economic and legal views of property have dominated conversations over the notion since Marx. The author argues that the role of property in shaping organizations and configuring work relationships is poorly understood, as property, being traditionally defined exclusively through an economic and legal lens, fails to account for the diversity of ways in which it is expressed every day within and around organizations. Revealing property's organizing power, the author suggests, requires adopting a communicative lens to property, situating it in the daily interactions through which organizations are created, changed, and undone.
Firmly positioning capitalism as a communication phenomenon, this book will be of relevance to scholars looking for an observable and actionable entry point to formulate a critique of capitalism, by offering them a communicative approach to one of its main mechanisms: property.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
2 Tables, black and white
ISBN-13
978-1-040-53038-2 (9781040530382)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 07/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€191.50
Not yet published
Person
Nicolas Bencherki is a professor of organizational communication at Universite TELUQ, Canada. He is also an affiliate faculty member at Universite du Quebec a Montreal and at Audencia Business School, France. He studies the interactional performance of organizational phenomena such as authority, strategy, and ownership, with a particular focus on nonprofit and community organizations. He holds a joint PhD in communication from Universite de Montreal and in sociology of action from Sciences Po Paris.
Content
1. Reintroducing Property, the Overlooked Concept; 2. Self-ownership and Labour at the Source Property; 3. Private Property as a Pinnacle; 4. A Processual and Communicative View of Property; 5. How Communicative Property is Accomplished; 6. Property, (im)materiality, and technology; 7. What Communicative Property Does; 8. Conclusion: Towards "Possessive" Studies of Organizing and Working?
