Ain't Misbehavin': Taking Play Seriously in Organizations

Abstract

In response to the dominant logic that characterizes play as frivolous and only marginally relevant, this paper attempts to develop a theoretical framework that will allow play to be taken seriously in organizations. Psychological, sociological, anthropological and philosophical literature streams are reviewed to establish a coherent understanding of the emotional, social and cognitive benefits of play. A net of semantic distinctions is then introduced to differentiate play from work, and play is presented formally as imaginative, ethical and autotelic. This analysis is then embedded in the organizational research literature to show the implications of play with regard to strategic innovation, the management of uncertainty and continuous learning.