Book review: Authority, multiplicity and performativity: communicatively theorizing corporations under communicative capitalism

Tim Kuhn’s latest book, What Do Corporations Want?: Communicative Capitalism, Corporate Purpose, and a New Theory of the Firm (Bristol University Press, 2024) offers an ambitious reconceptualization of corporations’ existence and purpose in the context of modern communicative capitalism. In this work, Kuhn critically examines the multiplicity of corporate purposes and argues that organizational purpose is not a singular entity but a site of contestation, negotiation and performative enactment. His framework draws on theories of performativity and new materialism(s), particularly from Deleuze, to show how corporate identity and purpose emerge through material and discursive practices rather than as pre-existing or stable entities. He provides a deeply theoretical exploration, taking readers through significant frameworks like the communicative constitution of organization (CCO) theory, new materialism, communicative capitalism and the concept of assemblage, to examine how purpose is formed, contested and enacted in today’s firms. One of the book’s key upshots is what Kuhn calls a communicative theory of the firm (CTF), a stance positing that firms exist not simply because of economic efficiencies or as nexuses of contracts between persons, but as sites for expressing authority and capitalizing on communicative practices. This CTF portrays firms as “authority machines” whose purpose is not pre-determined but emerges through complex communicative assemblages, understood as fluid networks of human and non-human elements, that generate corporate identity, power and legitimacy.Beyond the book, Kuhn’s recent work continues to address the constitution of authority and agency in organizational practice, with particular attention given to how knowledge, identities and conceptions of value performatively arise in sociomaterial and power-laden communication practices. Communication, in his formulation, is a struggle over meaning through which political, cultural, material and economic elements (e)merge. The inquiries flowing from this view not only build on his theoretical contributions but also suggest important implications for labor organizing and alternative economic models, topics increasingly relevant in today’s socio-economic climate. Beyond his research, Kuhn has also served as an associate editor at the interdisciplinary journal Human Relations, co-coordinated the “Organization as Communication” Standing Working Group at the European Group of Organizational Studies (EGOS), been chair of the organizational communication divisions of both the International and the National Communication Associations and held visiting positions at Copenhagen Business School, in Denmark and Lund University, in Sweden.This interview delves into the role of performativity in Kuhn’s book and in his broader scholarship, unpacking some of his work’s key themes. The first two questions focus on multiplicity of purpose, emphasizing that performativity is not singular; rather, each communicative episode generates multiple effects. As Kuhn applies this ontological approach to corporate purpose, he challenges traditional views that assume a stable, overarching mission, instead showing how purpose – and, in turn, desire – is enacted through various competing and overlapping practices.The next section shifts to Deleuze’s role in theorizing performativity, offering an alternative to Austin’s and Searle’s speech act theories. By linking performativity to new materialist thought, Kuhn’s approach highlights how corporate practices and the desires they evince are continuously constituted through dynamic assemblages of discourse, practice and power. This theoretical move allows for a richer understanding of organizational change, resisting static interpretations of corporate identity and strategy.Following this, the conversation turns to branding as a key phenomenon of capitalistic performativity. In communicative capitalism, branding is not merely about representation but about constituting organizational identity and value. Kuhn’s work suggests that branding operates as a performative force, shaping both internal corporate narratives and external perceptions. This perspective offers insight into how organizations negotiate their legitimacy and stakeholder relations within a communicative economy.Finally, the interview engages Kuhn in applying his theory to the case of labor unions, linking his framework to a critical issue in the USA today. This section invites Kuhn to consider how unions, as sites of ontological multiplicity, can adapt their strategies to challenge contemporary capitalism more effectively. By interrogating the authority structures that underpin corporate decision-making, Kuhn’s insights could help reimagine unions’ roles in shaping economic futures.My own interest in labor unions stems from growing up in a house with both parents serving as union presidents and my personal commitment to scholar activism, where I aim to bridge theoretical work with real world implications that contribute to meaningful social change. Having had the opportunity to conduct this interview excites me because it aligns with my belief that theory and practice should inform one another, in my case particularly in addressing pressing labor issues. Understanding how Kuhn’s performative framework could be applied to labor organizing not only enhances my academic work, and hopefully that of this interview’s readers, but also strengthens my ability to contribute to activism that supports workers’ rights and economic justice. 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