Critical management studies have taken an interest in ‘utopian’ models of management, especially within alternative organizations. This article focuses on FC United of Manchester, a small football club with 5000 members, whose principles of inclusion, affordability, community, and friendship evoke ideas of utopianism and collectivism. About 30 fan-owned football clubs exist in the UK, each with their own raison d’être, but all discontented with the commodification of the game. Bauman’s concept of ‘liquid modernity’, in which individuals find self-realization through consumption, is used to analyse how FC United reacts to the individualization and commercialization of football. This analysis employs CMS concepts to evaluate whether FC United is a genuine alternative to standard business models, and gives an empirical and critical dimension to liquid modernity as a framework for understanding society.

Torchia, D. (2016). An alternative football club in a liquid modernity: FC United of Manchester. CULTURE AND ORGANIZATION, 22(3), 203-220 [10.1080/14759551.2016.1161625].

An alternative football club in a liquid modernity: FC United of Manchester

Torchia, D
2016

Abstract

Critical management studies have taken an interest in ‘utopian’ models of management, especially within alternative organizations. This article focuses on FC United of Manchester, a small football club with 5000 members, whose principles of inclusion, affordability, community, and friendship evoke ideas of utopianism and collectivism. About 30 fan-owned football clubs exist in the UK, each with their own raison d’être, but all discontented with the commodification of the game. Bauman’s concept of ‘liquid modernity’, in which individuals find self-realization through consumption, is used to analyse how FC United reacts to the individualization and commercialization of football. This analysis employs CMS concepts to evaluate whether FC United is a genuine alternative to standard business models, and gives an empirical and critical dimension to liquid modernity as a framework for understanding society.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
alternative; community; dystopia; football; liquid modernity; utopia;
English
2016
22
3
203
220
reserved
Torchia, D. (2016). An alternative football club in a liquid modernity: FC United of Manchester. CULTURE AND ORGANIZATION, 22(3), 203-220 [10.1080/14759551.2016.1161625].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/468878
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