Management fashion, academic fashion, and enduring truths

Reactions to my article have fallen into three classes. Nicolay A. M. Worren's negative comments typify the "how-dare-you" class: "How dare you develop a theory that suggests that sociopsychological forces have any influence on the popularity of management innovations." There was also a second class of positive "you-told-them" comments: "Bravo! you really told those unethical consultants and management gurus that they make their living by exploiting the sociopsychological vulnerabilities of managers struggling to find their way in a dynamic, complex, and ambiguous world." In my opinion, both types of comments missed my article's main point: that we must take management fashions very seriously precisely because they are not only sociopsychological phenomena.