ABSTRACT

In this final chapter of the book, we summarize our insights and provide an outlook on what, for us, are promising avenues for future research in multimodal management and organization research. We begin the chapter by ‘taking stock’, suggesting that there is a growing realization about the multimodality of contemporary organization(s), an engagement with an increasingly broad spectrum of topics and issues, as well as an increasing readiness to utilize multimodal resources as a way of improving research processes. However, we also identify unrealized potentials, such as more sophisticated understandings of multimodal orchestrations, a more systematic development of multimodal methodologies adapted for organization research, and more integrated and consistent theoretical frameworks. Additionally, we urge future research to acknowledge the culturally constructed nature of modes and study the use of modes beyond the verbal, visual, and material in greater detail. After some conclusions about the potential cross-fertilization between organization research and multimodality studies, we also discuss implications for organizational practice.