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Story-dismantling, story-meandering, and story-confirming : Organizational identity work in times of public disgrace

Sörgärde, Nadja LU (2020) In Scandinavian Journal of Management 36(3).
Abstract

This study aims to enhance our understanding of organizational identity work (OIW), building upon previous studies’ emphasis on the usefulness of understanding OIW in terms of storytelling. The paper offers an extended vocabulary for making sense of alternative narration forms. Based on an in-depth study of a humanitarian organization in Sweden, the discursive OIW struggles of employees in times of public disgrace are explored and the following conceptualizations suggested: a) Story-dismantling (attempting to deconstruct a dominant discrediting narrative). b) Story-meandering (attempting to tell a coherent counter-story but without success). c) Story-confirming (claiming that a dominant historical narrative remains valid). These... (More)

This study aims to enhance our understanding of organizational identity work (OIW), building upon previous studies’ emphasis on the usefulness of understanding OIW in terms of storytelling. The paper offers an extended vocabulary for making sense of alternative narration forms. Based on an in-depth study of a humanitarian organization in Sweden, the discursive OIW struggles of employees in times of public disgrace are explored and the following conceptualizations suggested: a) Story-dismantling (attempting to deconstruct a dominant discrediting narrative). b) Story-meandering (attempting to tell a coherent counter-story but without success). c) Story-confirming (claiming that a dominant historical narrative remains valid). These concepts open up and invite considerations of uncertainty, fragmentation, fluidity, and contextuality in future studies of both organizational identity (OI) and OIW.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Disgrace, Humanitarian organization, Narrative perspective, Organizational identity, Organizational identity work, Storytelling
in
Scandinavian Journal of Management
volume
36
issue
3
article number
101105
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85087001733
ISSN
0956-5221
DOI
10.1016/j.scaman.2020.101105
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
212c5581-1d1b-4381-a139-529e91d76f9c
date added to LUP
2020-07-07 09:50:49
date last changed
2022-04-18 23:25:49
@article{212c5581-1d1b-4381-a139-529e91d76f9c,
  abstract     = {{<p>This study aims to enhance our understanding of organizational identity work (OIW), building upon previous studies’ emphasis on the usefulness of understanding OIW in terms of storytelling. The paper offers an extended vocabulary for making sense of alternative narration forms. Based on an in-depth study of a humanitarian organization in Sweden, the discursive OIW struggles of employees in times of public disgrace are explored and the following conceptualizations suggested: a) Story-dismantling (attempting to deconstruct a dominant discrediting narrative). b) Story-meandering (attempting to tell a coherent counter-story but without success). c) Story-confirming (claiming that a dominant historical narrative remains valid). These concepts open up and invite considerations of uncertainty, fragmentation, fluidity, and contextuality in future studies of both organizational identity (OI) and OIW.</p>}},
  author       = {{Sörgärde, Nadja}},
  issn         = {{0956-5221}},
  keywords     = {{Disgrace; Humanitarian organization; Narrative perspective; Organizational identity; Organizational identity work; Storytelling}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Scandinavian Journal of Management}},
  title        = {{Story-dismantling, story-meandering, and story-confirming : Organizational identity work in times of public disgrace}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2020.101105}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.scaman.2020.101105}},
  volume       = {{36}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}