Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to contribute to the discussion on criticality in international business by proposing an interconnection between organizational managerialism and the construction of a global managerial order.
Design/methodology/approach
Explores the theoretical divide within critical management studies and the challenge provided to theory by internationalization/globalization. Using the case study of the World Bank, examines its organic drive to global governmentality. Examines relevance of C. Wright Mills's theory of the power élite to the advent of a global managerial élite.
Findings
Neither purely realist nor constructivist accounts offer an adequate framework for critical study of international business. Using an approach acknowledging the interweaving of materiality and discourse in construction of a global order, argues that transnational institutions, including the World Bank, play a key role in implementing networked global managerialism. Updates critical élite theory to accommodate globalization and the rise of organized civil society.
Research limitations/implications
Further challenges include mapping global managerial élites and their interconnections.
Practical implications
Critical management researchers should pay more attention to the interconnection between organization‐based theories of control and broader human systems.
Originality/value
Contributes to the application of theories of managerial control beyond the intra‐organizational context.