Technology and the management imagination

This paper explores the evolution of the techno-management imagination (TMI). This is the process by which, in times of crisis, managers think not just out of the box, but out of the very reality in which the box resides. Tacit social consensus, also known as corporate culture, can lead to a shared, implicit, and incorrect view that certain actions are impossible. TMI transcends local culture, accessing technological solutions that are unknown and/or unimagined. Members of the organization tend to call such solutions “magic”. The paper looks at social, perceptual, and managerial aspects of magic from a practical point of view that is grounded in research. It examines the risks of TMI, and concludes with suggested perspectives and research questions for management scientists and cognitive scientists.