[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-151086-en":3,"doc-seo-151086-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},151086,687197207919,"Theodora","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/a000253d6f5f7c60be?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1779446848396160552",8,"Research & Report","Shooting the shit - The role of bullshit in organisations","This article argues that a great deal of organisational talk and text amounts to bullshit: communication produced with scant regard for truth, used to mislead and pursue the bullshitter’s interests. The paper shows that bullshit is especially common in immaterial roles lacking clear social purpose, where employees occupy themselves by circulating strategically ambiguous, information-dense and fleeting discourses inspired by management fashion. It also explores both benefits—positive corporate image, confidence and legitimacy—and darker effects such as crowding out primary tasks, undermining identities and eroding stakeholder trust.","City Research Online  \nCity St George’s, University of London  \nCitation: Spicer, A. (2013) . Shooting the shit: The role of bullshit in organisations.  \nManagement (France), 16(5), pp. 653-666. doi: 10.3917/mana.165.0653 This is the published version of the paper.  \nThis version of the publication may differ from the final published version. To cite this item please consult the publisher's version.  \nPermanent repository link: [https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/15609/](https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/15609/)  \nLink to published version: [https://doi.org/10.3917/mana.165.0653](https://doi.org/10.3917/mana.165.0653)  \nCopyright and Reuse: Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, unless otherwise indicated, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. For full details of reuse please refer to City Research Online policy.  \nCity Research Online:  [http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/](http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/  publications@citystgeorges.ac.uk)[ ](http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/  publications@citystgeorges.ac.uk)[ publications@citystgeorges.ac.uk](http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/  publications@citystgeorges.ac.uk)  \nISSN: 1286-4692  \nEmmanuel Josserand, CMOS, University of Technology, Sydney (Editor in Chief)  \nJean-Luc Arrègle, EMLYON Business School (editor)  \nLaure Cabantous, Cass Business School (editor)  \nStewart Clegg, University of Technology, Sydney (editor)  \nOlivier Germain, Université du Québec à Montréal (editor, book reviews)  \nKarim Mignonac, Université de Toulouse 1 (editor)  \nPhilippe Monin, EMLYON Business School (editor)  \nTyrone Pitsis, University of Newcastle (editor)  \nJosé Pla-Barber, Universidad de València (editor)  \nMichael Tushman, Harvard Business School (editor)  \nWalid Shibbib, Université de Genève (managing editor)  \nAlexander Bell, Université de Genève (editorial assistant)  \nMartin G. Evans, University of Toronto (editor emeritus)  \nBernard Forgues, EMLYON Business School (editor emeritus)  \nSpecial Issue  \n André SPICER 2013  \nShooting the shit: the role of bullshit in organisations M@n@gement, 16(5), 653-666.  \nM@n@gement est la revue officielle de l’AIMS  \nM@n@gement is the journal official of AIMS  \nCopies of this article can be made free of charge and without securing permission, for purposes of teaching, research, or library reserve. Consent to other kinds of copying, such as that for creating new works, or for resale, must be obtained from both the journal editor(s) and the author(s) .  \nM@n@gement is a double-blind refereed journal where articles are published in their original language as soon as they have been accepted.  \nFor a free subscription to M@n@gement, and more information: [http://www.management-aims.com](http://www.management-aims.com)  \n© 2013 M@n@gement and the author(s) .  \nShooting the shit: the role of bullshit in organisations  \nAndré SPICER Cass Business School, CU London  \n[Andre.spicer.1@city.ac.uk](Andre.spicer.1@city.ac.uk)  \nAbstract  \nThis article argues that a great deal of both ‘talk’ and ‘text’ in organisational settings is, ultimately, bullshit. By ‘bullshit’ I mean the type of organisational speech and text that is produced with scant regard for the truth and is used to willfully mislead and to pursue the interests of the bullshitter. Bullshit is particularly prevalent in immaterial roles that lack a clear sense of social purpose. In these contexts, employees try to occupy themselves by engaging in bullshit. They do this by circulating discourses which are strategically ambiguous, over-packed with information and deliberately fleeting in nature. In order to construct these discourses, they frequently turn to examples set by the management fash","cbCaia3zwYzsMabl","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaia3zwYzsMabl","pdf",687498,1,16,"English","en",105,"# Abstract\n# Introduction","[{\"question\":\"What does the article mean by “bullshit” in organisational settings?\",\"answer\":\"It refers to talk and text produced with little regard for truth, used to willfully mislead and serve the interests of the person generating it.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is bullshit particularly prevalent in some organisational roles?\",\"answer\":\"It is especially common in immaterial roles that lack a clear sense of social purpose, where employees seek to keep themselves occupied through discourse.\"},{\"question\":\"What positive and negative consequences does bullshit have in organisations?\",\"answer\":\"It can improve a company’s surface image, support self-confidence and legitimacy, but it may also crowd out primary tasks, compromise valued identities and undermine stakeholder trust.\"}]","Shooting the shit - The role of bullshit in organisations | PDF",1787832557,40,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":87,"head_meta":89,"extra_data":91,"updated_unix":28},"shooting-the-shit-the-role-of-bullshit-in-organisations","",{"@graph":36,"@context":86},[37,54,69],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/shooting-the-shit-the-role-of-bullshit-in-organisations/151086/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":63,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":64,"interactionStatistic":65},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":41,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-04","2026-08-27",true,{"@type":66,"interactionType":67,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":68},"ViewAction",{"@type":70,"mainEntity":71},"FAQPage",[72,78,82],{"name":73,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":75},"What does the article mean by “bullshit” in organisational settings?","Question",{"text":76,"@type":77},"It refers to talk and text produced with little regard for truth, used to willfully mislead and serve the interests of the person generating it.","Answer",{"name":79,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":80},"Why is bullshit particularly prevalent in some organisational roles?",{"text":81,"@type":77},"It is especially common in immaterial roles that lack a clear sense of social purpose, where employees seek to keep themselves occupied through discourse.",{"name":83,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":84},"What positive and negative consequences does bullshit have in organisations?",{"text":85,"@type":77},"It can improve a company’s surface image, support self-confidence and legitimacy, but it may also crowd out primary tasks, compromise valued identities and undermine stakeholder trust.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":88,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":59,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":90,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":93},[94,98,102,106,111,116,120,123,128,131,135],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":99,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":101},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":53,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":113,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":115},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":118,"show_sort_weight":29,"slug":119},7,"Healthcare","healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]