ABSTRACT
MORE than a decade ago, James Coleman (1980) offered an insightful account of social science research in the twentieth century. His thesis was that trends in social research were directly related to broader changes in society, particularly to changes in social structures. The Chicago school, to use a single example, with its focus on the city, immigrants and adaptation, marginal persons and subgroups, and participant observation research methods was associated with a very specific period in the United States: transformation from rural to urban society, teeming immigration, disorder and marginality, and local philanthropists funding local studies of local problems. Hence, Coleman contended, the social research performed by the Chicago school—and that launched it into scholarly and policy prominence—was a reflection of the social fabric of the time. If Coleman’s analysis is correct, and Delia (1987) has offered a quite similar assessment of the history of communication research in general, just as Putnam and Cheney (1985) have linked specific developments in organizational communication research to societal developments since the 1920s, then two implications follow for current organizational communication researchers. First, what world order changes are likely to affect organizations we study in this and the next century? Second, have our existing and emerging theoretical perspectives adequately captured resultant changes for organizational communication?
