Organisational magic and the making of Christmas: On glamour, grottos and enchantment. (November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hancock, Philip
• Is Part Of: Organization. Volume 27:Number 6(2020:Nov.)
• Page Start: 797
• Page End: 816
• Publication Date: 2020-11
• Subjects: Aesthetics -- atmospheres -- Christmas -- glamour -- magic -- sociomateriality; Organizational sociology -- Periodicals; Organization -- Periodicals; 302.35
• DOI: 10.1177/1350508419867205
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1350-5084

Abstract

Drawing on qualitative research into the design, delivery and organisation of Christmas grottos, this article offers a critical understanding of the role that a functional belief in organisational magic plays in their manufacture and operation. Utilising classic anthropological research into the cultural production of magical belief systems, I attend to how such magic is produced through a network of sociomaterial practices conducive to the commercial values of the Anglo-American Christmas. I additionally draw on contemporary literature on aesthetic and atmospheric organisation in order to analyse the practical accomplishment of organisational magic as a mode of captivation and re-enchantment. This article concludes by emphasising the increasingly commercial utility of a functional belief in magic as an organisational resource, highlighting the need for further empirical scrutiny, as well as conceptual and theoretical analysis.