Sierk Ybema

Marketing Identities: Shifting Circles of Identification in Inter-organizational Relationships:

This study explores the discursive positioning of managers involved in inter-organizational relationships (IORs) within industrial supply chains. In closely examining a series of interviews, we find a number of interpretive repertoires of boundary construction used in IOR managers’ identity discourse. Our analysis of these repertoires suggests that, although the development of IORs apparently signals the emergence of ‘widening circles of identification’, distinction drawing and boundary setting is as much a part of managers’ IOR talk as boundary transcendence. IOR managers can thus be seen as ‘boundary bricoleurs’ who discursively mark different self/other boundaries that varyingly position themselves, and their colleagues, competitors, customers and suppliers, as ‘inside’ or ‘outside’ the organization, the market, the relationship or their field of expertise. In this tensile positioning, they forestall closure on their identity by constantly shifting identifications, sometimes within the same stretch of talk. Oscillating between an inclusive and an exclusive ‘us’, and thus articulating embracing yet distinctive identities vis-a-vis other network actors, enables IOR managers to navigate through their complex and dynamic inter-organizational field, maintaining multiple inter-firm relationships while at the same time preserving their own organizational and professional status within these relationships.

Talk of change: Temporal contrasts and collective identities:

While temporality is generally acknowledged as a critical ingredient in processes of identity formation, studies of identity talk usually assume collective identity is essentially about establishing or facilitating a sense of temporal self-continuity. These studies do not detail how organizational actors might recast their identity narratives and reflectively put together stories about a changing or changed identity. The ethnographic research presented in this article reports how the editors of a Dutch national newspaper constructed their newspaper’s identity in temporal discontinuity talk, discursively constructing a contrast between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’, between legacies from a common past and plans for the future. As the organizational identity literature is primarily focused on talk of temporal continuities, I draw on studies of organizational change and nostalgic and ‘postalgic’ narratives in order to develop an understanding of the temporal dimension of collective identity talk that does not rule out, but incorporates, discontinuity and change.

Cultivating Cultural Differences in Asymmetric Power Relations

In this article we integrate findings from interviews and ethnographic case studies to explore issues of culture and identity in Japanese—Dutch work relations in two different contexts: Japanese firms in the Netherlands and Dutch firms in Japan. It is suggested that cultural identities do not carry a pre-given meaning that people passively enact, as is sometimes assumed, but become infused with meaning in organizational actors’ interpretations that are embedded in specific social contexts. The research contribution this article makes is twofold. First, it illustrates how, in different organizational settings, cultural differences are enacted differently in people’s identity talk, underlining the context-dependent and constructed nature of culture and cultural distance in intercultural encounters. Second, it highlights the particular relevance of a power-sensitive understanding of claims of cultural difference by revealing small, but significant differences in organizational actors’ cultural identity talk that are intimately related to the specific power asymmetries within our research participants’ organizations. Nous intégrons dans cet article les résultats d’entretiens et d’études de cas ethnographiques afin d’explorer les questions de cultures et d’identité dans les relations de travail japonaises-hollandaises dans deux contextes différents, à savoir : compagnies japonaises en Hollande et compagnies hollandaises au Japon. Il est suggéré que les identités culturelles n’ont pas de signification culturelle donnée a priori, comme il est parfois supposé, mais qu’elles trouvent une signification dans les interprétations d’acteurs organisationnels ancrées dans des contextes sociaux spécifiques. La contribution de cet article à la recherche est double. Il illustre tout d’abord comment, dans des structures organisationnelles différentes, les différences culturelles se jouent différemment dans le discours identitaire des gens, ce qui illustre l’aspect construit et contextuellement dépendant de la culture et la distance culturelle dans les rencontres interculturelles. Il souligne ensuite la pertinence particulière de la sensibilité au pouvoir pour comprendre les prétentions de différences culturelles. Il révèle ainsi de légères, mais significatives, différences dans le discours d’identité culturelles des acteurs organisationnels qui sont intimement liées aux asymétries spécifiques de pouvoir dans les organisations qui ont participé à notre recherche.

Identity-in-the-work and musicians’ struggles : the production of self-questioning identity work

Identity work is widely regarded as a process through which people strive to establish, maintain or restore a coherent and consistent sense of self. In the face of potential disruptions of, or threats to, their identities, people seek to salvage their sense of self by resolving tensions and restoring consistency. In contrast to the current identity work literature, this research indicates that identity work is not always about seeking resolution and moving on, but sometimes about continuing struggles which do not achieve a secure sense of self. This article seeks to elaborate the understanding of unresolved identity work by exploring three contexts of the everyday practice of indie musicians. An analysis of how they struggle to construct acceptable versions of their selves as songwriter, bandleader and front(wo)man allows us to develop the conceptualization of self-questioning (as opposed to self-affirmative, resolution-oriented) identity work.

Clash of the Titans: Temporal organizing and collaborative dynamics in the Panama Canal Megaproject

Recent studies of temporary organizing and project-based work explain how organizational actors establish and maintain clear role structures and harmonious relations in the face of precariousness by engaging in stabilizing work practices. This focus upon ‘order’ undervalues conflict-ridden negotiations and power struggles in temporary organizing. This paper demonstrates that in temporary organizing conflict and order may exist in tandem. Drawing close to the collaborative dynamics in a large-scale global project, we analyse the political struggles over role patterns and hierarchic positioning of client and agent in the temporary organization of the Panama Canal Expansion Program (PCEP). In such projects, the agent typically takes the position of project leader. In this case however, the client was formally in charge, while the agent was assigned the role of coach and mentor. The diffuse hierarchy triggered project partners to engage in both harmony-seeking social and discursive practices and to enter into conflict-ridden negotiations over authority relations in the everyday execution of the PCEP project. Our study contributes to existing literatures on temporal organizing by presenting a case of simultaneous practices of harmonization and contestation over mutual roles and hierarchic positions. We also show that studying collaboration between project partners involves, not merely analysing project governance structures, but also offering a context-sensitive account of everyday social and discursive practices. Finally, we reflect on a view of ‘permanence’ and ‘temporariness’ as themselves contested categories and symbolic sites for struggle.

Japanese Business in the Dutch Polder: The Experience of Cultural Differences in Asymmetric Power Relations

The article investigates the interrelation between organizational context and human agency in intercultural interactions. Arguing against the dominant approach in cross-cultural research that relies heavily on ‘objective’ dimension scores and therewith dissociates culture from actual intercultural encounters in specific contexts, it proposes that, under certain social–political conditions, organizational members may perceive or present particular cultural characteristics as especially significant. The article employs data from ethnographic materials gathered in the European head office of a Japanese multinational in the Netherlands. The implications of the findings are discussed with specific focus on the impact of the distribution of power and resources in an organizational setting on the salience of cultural differences in transnational cooperation.

The invention of transitions: History as a symbolic site for discursive struggles over organizational change:

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.

Discourse, practice, policy and organizing: some opening comments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the interplay between discourse, policy and practice in relation to aspects of organization and processes of organizing.Design/methodology/approach – Provides an introduction to the six contributions contained in this special issue and discusses how they relate to the core theme.Findings – Highlights the need for an approach which treats discourses, policies and practices as connected and mutually implicated, rather than discrete, phenomena.Originality/value – Presents an approach to discourse analysis which promotes an engagement with wider aspects of social activity.

Resistance Through Compliance: The Strategic and Subversive Potential of Frontstage and Backstage Resistance

Cynicism, gossip, foot-dragging, simulation of productivity, etc. have been regarded by some scholars as manifestations of resistance that are subtle and unobtrusive, but still real and effective. Denying their strategic and subversive potential, others have argued that such informal, indirect or infrapolitical demonstrations of subversion are risk-free and ineffective, and, because members shy away from acting on their critique, that they should be re-evaluated as mere compliance. Refuting an either–or framework, we ask the more pertinent, empirically grounded, and underexplored question of how resistant and compliant behaviours are performed in situ. This allows us to discern and examine different forms and effects of infrapolitical strategies. Building on an ethnographic case-analysis of a planned change programme in the Amsterdam municipality’s Department of Work and Income (DWI), this paper explores in detail how organizational actors subtly synthesize compliance and resistance in their situated positionings vis-a-vis a change initiative, and how such ambiguous positioning becomes consequential. We describe two distinct infrapolitical strategies, which we term frontstage and backstage resistance. While frontstage resistance derives its subversive potential from mixing open protest with implicit complaisance, backstage resistance functions via a benign appearance of carefully staged compliant behaviour.

The talent paradox: talent management as a mixed blessing

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an inside-out perspective on the practices and effects of talent management (TM) in a multinational organization. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts an autoethnographic approach focusing on the experiences of the first author during her employment in a multinational organization. This approach contributes to the literature by providing an insider talent perspective that thus far has not been presented in TM research. Findings Applying autoethnography as a means to address the inside-out perspective in TM reveals a tension. The authors label this phenomenon the “talent paradox,” defined as the mix of simultaneously occurring opportunities and risks for individuals identified and celebrated as a talent. Originality/value The paper may be of value to TM scholars and practitioners, as well as to employees who have been identified as high potentials or talents in their organizations. In contrast with the TM literature’s optimism, the findings illuminate that being identified as a talent may paradoxically produce both empowerment and powerlessness. Attending to personal aspects of TM processes is relevant for organizations as well as for individuals as it enables reflection and sensemaking.