PhD Research Project

Transcription

1 THE NARRATIVE CO-CONSTRUCTION OF CORPORATE IDENTITY Trine Susanne Johansen PhD Student, ASB Centre for Corporate Communication Friday, October 3rd 2008 PhD Research Project Corporate Identity: Transported Essence or Dynamic Construction? Towards a Relational Approach to Identity and Identity Communication To approach the concept of identity from a social constructionist vantage point in order to (re)address the relationship or interplay between identity and communication within a communication context in light of the linguistic turn How can an organisation view and work with strategic communication as a social construction of identity rather than as a means of expressing identity? 1

2 Corporate Identity: A Tentative Definition Every organisation has an identity. It articulates the ethos, aims and values and presents a sense of individuality that can help to differentiate the organisation within its competitive environment. When well managed, identity can be a powerful means of integrating the many disciplines and activities essential to an organisation s success. It can also provide the visual cohesion necessary to ensure that all communications are coherent with each other and result in an image consistent with the organisation s defining ethos and character. The International Corporate Identity Group Corporate Identity Continued How an organisation allows itself to be known How an organisation allows people to describe, remember and relate to it Corporate corpus (body) The organisation as a (super)person One unifying expression: speaking and acting as one (behaviour, symbolism and communication) Corporate versus organisational identity Differences in disciplinary roots and focus 2

3 3 Views on Corporate Identity 1. The expression of personality personality identity image 2. Organisational reality identity identity management 3. All the expressions of a company identities images Cornelissen & Harris (2001) As All Expressions of a Company A rhetorical or communicative identity perspective Identity as appearance Self-presentation and self-performance enacting a character (versus acting in character ) Meaning created by organisations in acts of communication The utility of this metaphor lies thus in its ability to describe a company s selective manufacturing of multiple identities in a market or societal context, and to denote the need for sameness and continuity in its expressions to a particular stakeholder group. (Cornelissen & Harris 2001:63) Integration, harmonisation or coordination of stories and narratives 3

4 A Possible 4 th View? Corporate identity as socially constructed realities Realities are interpreted, constructed and maintained through discourse Corporate identity as performed or constituted in conversations (i.e. as conversationally constructed) Corporate identity as co-created or co-narrated Recognising the voice of the other Identity construction as a dialogical, dynamic process Recognising the Voice of the Other Approaching organisations self-presentations as narratives Autobiography is a self-narrative of identity Organisational autobiographical acts Identity as constantly being constructed and reconstructed in actual conversation where the autobiography contributes identity... as a continuous process of narration where both the narrator and the audience are involved in formulating, editing, applauding, and refusing various elements of the ever-produced narrative. (Czarniawska 1997: 49) 4

5 From Self-Narration to Co-Narration The very fabric of organization is constantly being created and re-created through elaboration, contestation and exchange of narratives The fabric is both a patchwork quilt of narrative episodes stitched together trough shared conversations, and rippled, with stories variously borrowing threads from each other, continuing and extending some, and seeking to unravel others. (Brown 2006:735) Identity Relevant Narratives Identities of organisations as constituted by the totality of identity-relevant narratives Documentary (reports etc.) Electronic (websites and s) Oral (conversations and speeches) 5

6 Identity as Narratives-in-Interaction Organizational identities may be regarded as ongoing arguments between insiders and between ostensible insiders and outsiders (Coupland & Brown 2004: 1325) natural occurring conversations or interactions between organisational insiders and outsiders telephone conversations correspondence web log posts press conferences meetings Narratives-in-Interaction Talk/narratives-in-interaction Narrative as a social practice What people do when they talk and what they do when they tell stories (Bamberg 2004:215) 4 central premises (Georgekopoulou 2007): Embedded Sequentially managed Emergent Situational and locally occasioned Multiple co-tellers co-constructing meaning 6

7 Identity Co-Construction on a Corporate Web Log Arla Foods and the 2006 Middle Eastern boycott Arla Foods: Traitor & Victim Landsforrædere. Ja, emnet siger alt!. Aldrig mere køber jeg Arla produkter En virksomhed som Arla er fuldstændigt uskyldigt blevet trukket ind i en konflikt som virksomheden ikke har haft den fjerneste skyld i Hvorfor skal det nu pludseligt udråbes som noget nært landsforræderi? I sælger demokratiske rettigheder for ussel mammon Kære Arla, det er helt urimeligt hvad I uforskyldt skal gå igennem i hele denne messære. Meget ligesom de virksomheder, der tjente tykt på Hitler-Tysklands købekraft under besættelsen. De handlede med dem der kunne betale (Tyskland). efter min mening er annoncen helt kynisk og bevidst blevet mistolket og brugt af en række interesseorganisationer for at komme i medierne. At kunne stille sig op og kritisere Arla er jo en hurtig genvej til at komme på avisernes forsider eller i tv s nyheder. 7

8 Corporate Identity Revisited Towards a narrative (4 th ) view. Corporate identity emerges from constant conversations or interactions between different, competing narratives where both organisational insiders and outsiders simultaneously participate as narrators and audiences Corporate identity as A network of conversations (Ford 1999) Narratives (Cooren 1999) Antenarrative networks of dynamic and unfinished stories (Boje 2001) Corporate Identity as Socially Constructed situational relational fluid/ dynamic discursive negotiated interactiondriven multiple/ polyphonic fragmented 8

9 Concluding Remarks & Implications The pessimists identity loses its consistence since no one knows any more what it is and where it lies. What then, is identity when an organisation has no boundary and expresses itself through several conflicting voices? (Kahane & Ritter 2002:115) The optimists Approaching identity as a conversation or dialogue rather than a monolog Opening up to and inviting co-narration There is, after all, always another story that can be told Brown (2006) Thank you for your attention Trine Susanne Johansen tsj@asb.dk