Capital University of Economics and Business, China
In today’s image-saturated societies, video has emerged as a pivotal medium, profoundly reshaping communication, culture, as well as the fabric of work and organizational practices. This shift, driven by more accessible video recording devices, new technologies to handle, store and analyze video, and video-platforms like YouTube and TikTok, has witnessed the rise of so-called “videocracy”, signifying the ascendance of moving images as a potent force within society. As cultural artifacts, videos today shape and reflect societal values and narratives, serving as powerful vehicles for communication within corporate, activist, and social spheres. Concurrently, they act as valuable instrumental resources, feeding data into algorithms and influencing organizational processes such as strategic decision-making and personnel recruitment and selection. The pervasive use of video for surveillance purposes within both organizations and society at large further underscores its significance. Moreover, as a moving record of organizational life, videos offer researchers unprecedented access to social interactions, providing invaluable insights into leadership styles, collaborative practices, and the intricate dynamics of power. As a result, exploring the current impact, potential, and limitations of videocracy in organizations and society, and the ethical concerns surrounding it, is both a valuable cultural enterprise in its own right and a unique way to advance the research agenda in organizations and management studies. This PDW seeks to foster dialogue among organization and management scholars from diverse backgrounds, encourage the development of innovative research methodologies and theoretical frameworks, stimulate cross-disciplinary collaboration, and ultimately unlock the full potential of video for understanding contemporary organizational life.
