Bro frameworks and the changing logics of managerial knowledge

This paper examines the rise of “bro frameworks”—performance-, discipline-, and mindset-oriented models popularized by digital influencers—and conceptualizes this development as a broader bro-ification of managerial knowledge. It asks how and why such frameworks gain authority and traction, and how they differ from established management tools such as the Balanced Scorecard or SWOT analysis. The paper adopts a conceptual narrative review approach based on a comparative reading of historical, established, and digitally native management frameworks. Illustrative examples are selected for their visibility and recognizability rather than statistical representativeness. Drawing on management fashion theory, platform studies, and theories of authority, the analysis contrasts the epistemic and communicative logics, diffusion dynamics, and modes of legitimacy associated with different framework types. The paper argues that while both bro frameworks and traditional management frameworks function as technologies of simplification, they rely on distinct sources of authority. Bro frameworks emphasize embodied credibility, personal narrative, and platform visibility, whereas traditional frameworks depend on abstraction, credentialed expertise, and institutional validation. Bro-ification does not displace classical frameworks but reshapes the conditions under which managerial ideas gain attention, legitimacy, and use. The paper contributes a conceptual lens for understanding how platform conditions reconfigure managerial knowledge, authority, and expertise in contemporary management culture.