Room for communitas: Exploring sociomaterial construction of leadership in liminal and dominant spaces

Abstract

This article analyzes the sociomaterial construction of plural and hierarchical leadership in liminal and dominant spaces. Combining insights from, first, the emerging body of studies exploring the role of spaces in sociomaterial construction of leadership; second, spatial management and organization research focusing on liminal spaces; and third, Victor Turner’s social structure–anti-structure framework, it is argued that dominant spaces actively participate in a sociomaterial construction of leadership that reflects the social structure of an organization. Liminal spaces as places fostering the experience of communitas, then, actively participate in the sociomaterial construction of plural leadership if collectively used.