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Article published In: Narrative Inquiry
Vol. 34:1 (2024) ► pp.30–52

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Narrating organisational identity

Staff positions in a fast-growing Danish airport

ORCiD logo with link | Aalborg University
Published online: 10 June 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.20113.hol
Abstract
Organisational identity may be understood as the result of communication processes, e.g. in the form of narratives and stories, that continuously intertwine and compete for the right to define the organisation (Boje, D. (1995). Stories of the storytelling organization: A postmodern analysis of Disney as “Tamara-land”. Academy of Management Journal, 38(4), 997–1035.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Humle, D. M., & Frandsen, S. (2017). Organizational identity negotiations through dominant and counter-narratives. In S. Frandsen, T. Kuhn, & M. W. Lundholt (Eds.), Counter-narratives and organization (pp. 105–128). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). This understanding forms the background of the article which analyses the narrative struggles in a local Danish airport whose collective identity was challenged in light of organisational changes that led to a large and dispersed organisation. Combining positioning theory (Davies, B., & Harré, R. (1990). Positioning: The discursive construction of selves. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 20(1), 43–63. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, (1999). Positioning and personhood. In R. Harré, & L. Van Langenhove (Eds.), Positioning theory (pp. 32–52). Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) with close linguistic analysis, data from a focus group interview are analysed, showing that through stories and narratives, top-management and staff members construct several positions along a cline that make it possible to achieve consensus across organisational levels and divisions. Furthermore, the article argues for analysing participants’ linguistic choices in detail to come closer to how participants do positioning work.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Narrative research in organisations
    • Coming to terms with the terms: Stories and narratives
  • Positioning theory
  • The case of the airport
  • Data collection: The focus group interview
    • The selection of the interview for the analysis
  • Analysis
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (53)
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