Is it the end of the world as weknow it? Apocalyptic reflexivity in and around organizations

The main aim of this essay is to encourage organizational scholars to engage with the notion of the apocalypse in a theoretically novel and insightful way. Despite a growing interest in theories about possible futures and the end of the world as we know it, scholars have so far mainly focused on the catastrophic implications of the notion, overlooking its generative potential. We have thus devised a specific approach to help organizational researchers in thinking through and navigating the apocalypse. Building on the idea of ‘apocalyptic reflexivity’, we illustrate the possibilities related to cultural analysis, speculation, and action opened up by the apocalypse, together with their implications for all those interested in studying, understanding, and changing contemporary organizational dynamics.