This paper aims at analyzing ontological and epistemological aspects related to postmodernity, to understand if postmodernity consists of ontology, epistemology or both of them, verifying, thus, possible misunderstandings with regard to its use in organizational studies. To accomplish this task, there is also a need for analyzing the main differences between postmodernity, structuralism, and post-structuralism. One notices that, generally, the definition of postmodernity oscillates between two poles: (1) historical period, time, and social ethos; (2) theoretical perspective, epistemology, intellectual and philosophical tradition. Finally, one observes the following mistakes in the organizational studies related to postmodernity: (1) to define postmodernity as a theoretical movement, a school of thought; (2) to treat post-structuralism as a synonym of postmodernity, and vice-versa; (3) to assign characteristics to postmodernity that actually concern post-structuralism; and (4) to disregard structuralism in their analysis on postmodernity.
Postmodernity; Post-structuralism; Structuralism; Epistemology; Ontology