The invention of transitions

History as a symbolic site for discursive struggles over organizational change

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5840671
AutoresSierk Ybema (0000-0003-4957-8906, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands, autor de correspondencia)
Año2014
Volumen21
Número4
Páginas495-513
Fecha de publicación2014-06-08
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaOrganization (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1350-5084 • E-ISSN: 1461-7323
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1350508414527255
OpenAlexW2033957893
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas25
Referencias citadas49

Studies interested in the discursive use of 'the past' often view history as an organizational resource designed to create a shared origin and a common purpose, promoting a sense of continuity and commitment among organizational stakeholders. In this article, I view 'history' instead as a symbolic site for discursive struggles between proponents and opponents of organizational change. It shows how organizational actors use 'traces' of a collective past in their version of 'the' history to win consent for change and to counter competing views. They do so by creating a sense of discontinuity from the past. The case study presented in this article combines a historian's account of a newspaper's history with an ethnographic account of the use of history prevalent among newspaper editors. While the historian's narrative suggests the continuance of some vigorous traditions alongside identity change, the editors narratively construct or 'invent' transitions between periods or episodes while disregarding the organization's traditions in their everyday talk. Storying the past, present and future in terms of a temporal dichotomy and 'inventing' transitions departs from existing studies of rhetorical history that tend to highlight invented traditions which establish or reaffirm continuity with the past. The case analysis shows how the editors selectively and strategically deploy history to accomplish or oppose change as part of ongoing negotiations within the editorial staff

Collective memory · Organizational identity · Symbolic interactionism · Accounting and Organizational Management · Management and Organizational Studies · Public Policy and Administration Research