Gurus, Hired Guns, and Warm Bodies: Itinerant Experts in a Knowledge Economy
One of Amazon.coms Best Business Books for 2004"I know of no other book that provides the insightfulness, the detail, and thoroughness ofGurus, Hired Guns, and Warm Bodies. It synthesizes a great many theoretical strands and is truly brilliant. It will be the definitive text to which scholars and policy makers will turn for better understanding of this complex topic."--Vicki Smith,Administrative Science Quarterly"In this masterful and insightful book, Stephen Barley and Gideon Kunda study the intricate and often counter-intuitive consequences associated with the changing nature of work. . . .Gurus, Hired Guns, and Warm Bodiesmakes an invaluable contribution to the study of contemporary organizations and the transformation of work. . . . [A] must read."--Sarosh Kuruvilla,Industrial and Labor Relations Review"This book fills an important gap by providing one of the first major research ethnographies of the high-tech sector, a major component of the knowledge economy. . . .  It succeeds in providing the thick description that this field has needed for some time."--Vincent Mosco,Labour/Le Travail"The authors document a serious study of a specific community: the high-technology IT world of Silicon Valley at the height of the 1990s boom years. While the book is not a guidance manual for contractors or consultants, the dilemmas, contradictions, and situations recounted by the different actors would resonate and provide useful guidance for consultants and hiring managers in the development sector."--Frances Rubin,Development in Practice"Barley and Kunda provide a valuable study that is sure to appeal to those interested in the various manifestations of contingent work or the inner workings of labor markets."--Jeremy Reynolds,American Journal of Sociology