Beware of the Spirits that You Call! Inquiries into the (Dis)ordering Properties of Organizational Texts

Consuelo Vasquez, Dennis Schoeneborn, Viviane Sergi

    Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    This article proposes to study the constitution of organization by acknowledging the fundamentally intertwined nature of order and disorder. Adopting a dialectical lens, we explore the (dis)ordering properties of communication by focusing on both the symbolic and the material dimensions of language use in texts. Drawing on empirical material from three qualitative case studies on project organizing, we show that attempts to create order through texts (i.e. by closing and fixing meaning) simultaneously trigger disorder (i.e. open up the possibility of multiple
    meanings). As we argue, this dynamic plays a key role in the development of projects (and more broadly organizations), keeping them in motion by calling forth continuous processes of meaning negotiation.
    Original languageEnglish
    Publication dateFeb 2014
    Number of pages40
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 2014
    Event38. Workshop der WK ORG 2014 - Jena, Germany
    Duration: 26 Feb 201428 Feb 2014
    Conference number: 38
    http://org.vhbonline.org/geschichte/#c38

    Workshop

    Workshop38. Workshop der WK ORG 2014
    Number38
    Country/TerritoryGermany
    CityJena
    Period26/02/201428/02/2014
    Internet address

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