City Research Online

Abstract

Critical research is facing calls for practical relevance through academic activism, affirmation of alternatives, collaboration with practitioners and critical performativity, with earlier traditions of critique dismissed as being negative, detached, and ineffective. This paper challenges this framing by returning to debates within Frankfurt School critical theory, particularly Theodor Adorno’s analysis of ‘thinking actionism’ – that is, a form of self-defeating critique based on a prioritization of practice, naïve optimism, faith in collectivity, and academic self-aggrandizement. Using this theoretical lens, we problematize trends within recent practice-oriented and impact-focused critical scholarship and offer three provocations. First, we caution against equating critique with practice and impact and dismissing critical theory. Second, we highlight the indirect and often unintended influence of critical theory on practice and revisit Frankfurt School approaches – such as immanent critique and negative dialectics – as theoretical resources that advance the relation between theory and practice. Finally, we evaluate examples of intellectual engagements that illustrate the potential for this more dialectical approach to politics and organizing.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2026, The Authors. Published by Sage. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons: Attribution Non-commercial International Public License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Publisher Keywords:	Adorno, CMS, critical performativity, critical theory, dialectics, Frankfurt, school, third wave
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BD Speculative Philosophy H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform J Political Science
Departments:	Bayes Business School Bayes Business School > Faculty of Management
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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