Industrial Anthropology: Conditions of Revival

Anthropologists Made Major Contributions to management and organization research in business and industry in the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. Since then, anthropologists have largely disappeared from the mainstream of management and organization research in business and industry. This paper examines the conditions that prevailed during the initial flourishing of industrial anthropology and asks whether the prominent role that it once occupied can be revived. The answer of this author is, maybe. While past conditions can never be repeated, there are interesting trends that may open the door for a revival. [management, organization research, industrial anthropology, business]