¹School of Management, Innsbruck University, Austria

Correspondence: Birgit Renzl, Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism, School of Management, Innsbruck University, Universitaetsstrasse 15, Innsbruck A-6020, Austria. Tel: +43 512 507 7191; Fax: +43 512 507 2968; E-mail: Birgit.Renzl@uibk.ac.at homepage: http://www.strategic-management.at

Received 9 January 2006; Accepted 18 January 2007.

Abstract

This paper emphasizes the role of language in constructing knowledge. It considers the context-dependant nature of knowledge: how do people interpret the situation; what tasks have to be accomplished; which knowledge do they consider important; etc. Firstly, the paper outlines its assumptions on epistemological issues, that is the knowledge concept and the role of language and meaning in creating knowledge. Secondly, referring to discourse theory the paper sheds light on the use of language in varying social contexts, highlighting interactivity, context dependency, functional, and creative nature of language. Thirdly, for the purpose of illustration the theoretical findings on language and meaning in constructing knowledge will be applied to the case of the Challenger accident.