Counter-Narratives and Organization

Book excerpt: Counter-Narratives and Organization brings the concept of "counter-narrative" into an organizational context, illuminating these complex elements of communication as intrinsic yet largely unexplored aspect of organizational storytelling. Departing from dialogical, emergent and processual perspectives on "organization," the individual chapters focus on the character of counter-narratives, along with their performative aspects, by addressing questions such as: how do some narratives gain dominance over others? how do narratives intersect, relate and reinforce each other how are organizational members and external stakeholders engaged in the telling and re-telling of the organization? The empirical case studies provide much needed insights on the function of counter-narratives for individuals, professionals and organizations in navigating, challenging, negotiating and replacing established dominant narratives about "who we are," "what we believe," "what we do" as a collective. The book has an interdisciplinary scope, drawing together ideas from both storytelling in organization studies, the communicative constitution of organization (CCO) from organizational communication, and traditional narratology from humanities. Counter-Narratives and Organization reflects an ambition to spark readers’ imagination, recognition, and discussion of organization and counter-narratives, offering a route to bring this important concept to the center of our understandings of organization.