Avanços teóricos do campo de conhecimentos da gestão social: uma análise integrativa

Abstract

The scientificity of the social management field (SM) has been constructed and validated in the Brazilian academy. It is positioned based on empirical evidence and a theoretical construction since the 1990s. In addition, the research developed under the aegis of SM has been guided by dialogues with different topics and areas of knowledge. Thus, this article presents an integrated synthesis of the articles available in the SPELL database, between 2010 and 2020. The evolution of SM was analyzed as a field of knowledge, exploring concepts, theoretical categories, epistemological and ontological assumptions, and theoretical references. When analyzing the categories and theoretical approaches of SM, the public sphere, social space, participation, cooperation, cooperativism, decentralization, solidarity economy, corporate sustainability, public governance, and social innovation were identified. Regarding the analysis of the epistemological and ontological assumptions of the field, it was possible to perceive a considerable multiplicity of approaches: Habermas critical theory, structuring theory, coloniality of power, ecology, Maffesolian sociology, sociologies of absences and emergencies by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Putnam’s fact vs. value dichotomy, strategy as practice and decoloniality. As a result, the field’s effort to resolve inconsistencies and misunderstandings that invalidate its practice is clear. In addition, the urgency of carrying out the actions proposed by SM is evident, since the current mainstream model reinforces and elevates social disparities between groups, preventing the common good.