What it means to be 'critical' in relation to international business : a case of the appropriate conceptual lens

Purpose ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the usage of the word critical in the social sciences, to review how being critical is a process through which criticism is a positive act, and to highlight the relevance of such a perspective in relation to international business. Design/methodology/approach ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ International business is viewed through the critical optic of the work of a group of scholars, collectively known as the Frankfurt School. Critical logic is shown to be a ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"destructiveââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ and ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"disrobingââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ act to reveal buried presuppositions. It is argued that a form of negation occurs that carries an important reflective function through a modality of estrangement ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ it is destructive, but the destruction is revealed to re-emerge in a positive act. Findings ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ The term critical is revealed as a constructive processual activity. The pretentious nature of positivism that seems to pervade thinking in international business is disrobed as being some kind of science and instead revealed to be a discourse firmly in the realm of values. Originality/value ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ A paper that is among few that rigorously interrogates the meaning of being critical in relation to international business.