Where did 'task' go in organization theory?

The concept of ’task’ used to be of central importance to the theoretical understanding and practical management of organizations. There is no ‘one best way of organizing’ it was argued,  instead any form of organization should be considered in relation to its primary ‘purpose’ or ’task’. However, ‘task’ has become a rare concept in organization theory, and in the paper we argue that this clear loss of interest coincides with a turn towards, what Ian Hunter calls, ‘high theory’, on the one hand,  and towards the representation of  ‘change’ as an abstract premise, on the other. After presenting bibliometrical data from organization studies journals showing that ‘task’ is no longer used in the sense of ‘basic purpose’, we discuss the concomitant rise of subfields within organization theory such as strategy, organizational behaviour and institutional theory. We argue that there is a connection between the declining interest in pragmatic concepts such as ‘task’ and the development of such subspecialties. We also argue that it has had some unfortunate consequences for the ability of organization theory to address the organization as a practical whole.