姝 Academy of Management Review

2014, Vol. 39, No. 1, 22–43.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amr.2011.0329

RETELLING STORIES IN ORGANIZATIONS:

UNDERSTANDING THE FUNCTIONS OF
NARRATIVE REPETITION
STEPHANIE L. DAILEY
The University of Texas at Austin

LARRY BROWNING
The University of Texas at Austin and University of Nordland

Scholars have yet to explore narrative repetition—when a story is recalled and retold
from another narrative—for its rich conceptual depth. To build a case for this area, we
analyze stories from scholarly research to identify the functions of narrative repetition.
We distinguish three dualities produced through repetition, which are grounded in
cultural issues of sameness and difference. These dualities—control/resistance, differen-
tiation/integration, and stability/change—bring a more sophisticated understanding of
the inherent complexity of narrative as a mode of interpretation and offer a transforma-
tive view of narrative that describes how the meaning of stories shifts over time. When
people repeat stories, some individuals may interpret a narrative of stability, whereas
others may hear a hint of change. Furthermore, we offer narrative repetition as a new
methodology for organizational research with the recommendation that scholars use the
recurrence of a story as a starting point for inquiry into the cultural life of organizations.

In recent years scholars have become increas- notion of theme repetition and metapatterns in
ingly aware of the importance of narratives in organizations, where individuals repeat the
organizations. For example, management schol- themes of unnoticed interpretations of social set-
ars have recognized narrative’s role in culture tings. However, narrative scholars have yet to rec-
(e.g., Martin, Feldman, Hatch, & Sitkin, 1983; ognize retelling a secondhand story as a kind of
Parada & Viladás, 2010), strategic management communicative event. Because of the prevalence
(e.g., Dunford & Jones, 2000; McConkie & Boss, 1986; of narrative repetition, a better understanding of
Sonenshein, 2010), and identity (e.g., Brown, Hum- retelling can make a major contribution to narra-
phreys, & Gurney, 2005; Chreim, 2005; Huy, 2008; tive theory. Here we create a conceptual frame-
Ibarra & Barbulescu, 2010). They have also used work that specifies the functions that narrative
narrative as a methodology for organizational repetition may serve in organizations.
studies (e.g., Quinn & Worline, 2008; Rhodes & Although management and narrative theory
Brown, 2005). Implicitly acknowledged, however, lack conceptual literature on retelling a story,
is the significance of narratives that get repeated budding literature in linguistics serves as a useful
regularly in organizations. Whether over the wa- starting point for the study of narrative repetition
ter cooler or in a formal quarterly meeting, people in organizations. Mushin, for example, used the
retell stories in organizations all the time. Yet the term “narrative retelling” to describe when
narrative literature has given little attention “speakers talk about information they only know
to the form, function, and implications of the by virtue of what has been told to them by the
recurrence of stories. previous narrator, a canonical hearsay” (2000: 929).
Narrative repetition refers to the retelling or cir- Linguistics scholars typically conduct research in
culation of organizational stories. Previous re- laboratories and investigate retellings of elicited
search has noted that similar stories are often told stories, rather than naturally occurring narratives
(Martin et al., 1983), that employees perform stories (see Norrick, 1998, for a review). In general, studies
repeatedly (Boje, 1991), and that group members show that not all retellings contain the same
may mirror or “chain out” the same story in the amount of information; for example, retellings to
dynamic sharing of group fantasies (Bormann, attentive listeners are longer than stories retold to
1972). In addition, Myers (2002) has proposed the inattentive listeners (Pasupathi, Stallworth, &
22
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2014 Dailey and Browning 23

Mordoch, 1998). This research also shows that re- DEFINING NARRATIVE AND
tellings depend on how much the audience needs NARRATIVE REPETITION
to know in order to understand the story
We are premising here an all-encompassing
(Marsh, 2007).
conception of narrative. Essentially, stories
Within the existing literature in linguistics that
must have an Aristotelian beginning, middle,
explains how stories are retold, the most interest-
and end—that is, “events and happenings are
ing finding is that storytellers rarely focus on pre-
configured into a temporal unity by means of a
serving the essence of the narrative. Specifically,
plot” (Polkinghorne, 1995: 5). This “story” format
“most people who retell a story are unlikely to
makes narrative distinct from any other commu-
care very much whether the story they retell is the nicative form. Furthermore, narratives either
same, detail by detail, as the story they originally state or imply causality, which distinguishes
heard” (Gauld & Stephenson, 1967: 40). Indeed, them from other sequential forms, such as
conversational retellings are not very accurate, chronicles. Finally, narratives, unlike other com-
and “different patterns of distortions . . . [are] as- municative forms, are situated in time and
sociated with different retelling purposes” (Marsh, space. They always convey an awareness of
2007: 17). When stories are repeated, the narrative when and where the action takes place.
form changes based on the speaker’s goals, the But narratives are more than just storytelling.
audience, and the context in which he or she is As Taylor and Van Every (2000) noted, narrative
speaking. As Norrick notes, this variation “is prob- is a mode of reasoning—indeed, a primary way
ably most pronounced in cases of polyphonic nar- we cognitively process social information. Nar-
ration in natural conversation, where no single rative is also emotionally charged, since stories
participant can control the course of the narrative, are ways of knowing and remembering personal
and multiple voices vie for the right to formulate meaning (Ricoeur, 2004) and make up our under-
the point of the story” (1998: 77). This finding has standings of reality (Bruner, 1986).
important implications when applying linguistic As reflected in the examples provided herein,
research to the study of narrative repetition in narratives come in myriad forms. Barthes (1996),
organizations, where multiple people know, for instance, mentioned oral and written lan-
share, and interpret the same stories. Even though guage, pictures, gestures, myth, legend, fables,
organizations are central sites for retellings, the tales, short stories, epics, history, drama, com-
linguistics literature does not examine repeated edy, pantomime, paintings, movies, local news,
stories in organizational contexts. and conversation as narrative forms. In addi-
In this article we develop theory to explain re- tion, health records, organizational documents,
tellings of organizational stories. In doing so we and folk ballads may also be considered narra-
identify the dualities produced through repetition, tive (Riessman, 2008). In our analysis we con-
which are grounded in the cultural issues of ceive of narratives as having four key features:
sameness and difference. These dualities— they “(1) foreshadow a problem, (2) provide a
control/resistance, differentiation/integration, sequential rendering of actions in the face of
and stability/change— bring a more sophisti- complications leading toward resolution, (3)
cated understanding of the inherent complexity achieve closure, [and] (4) invite or pronounce
of narrative as a mode of interpretation. We also moral implications” (Browning & Morris, 2012:
articulate a view of narrative that describes how 32).
the meaning of a story can shift over time. Nar- Following Weick (1979), who argued that talk
rative repetition both extends and reinterprets constitutes organizational reality, our perspec-
our understanding of narrative, since it serves tive is that organizations emerge through com-
as a unique way to explain how stories are munication (Taylor & Van Every, 2000). From this
contested and changed in organizations. sensemaking perspective, organizations are
We begin by defining narrative repetition and narratively constructed (Bruner, 1991) and sto-
situating its importance in the context of orga- ries are constitutive of organizations. Thus, our
nizations. Next, we explain its often complex definition of what counts as “organizational” is
functions in organizations. We conclude with expansive enough to include events occurring
some implications of this theoretical develop- outside organizations, such as in the home, the
ment and its prospects for further research. community, or society at large, because such
24 Academy of Management Review January

sites are common for workplace conversations representation of action—where the narrative
in which organizational stories are exchanged. represents the events as experienced by the
Now that we have defined narrative, we can characters (Aristotle, 1967; Ricoeur, 1984). Such
proceed with our conceptualization of narrative mimesis does not qualify as narrative repetition.
repetition. To date, narrative theory has focused on direct
storytelling or mimesis—stories that typically
Narrative Repetition require explanation, creativity, drama, and
transportation (Green & Brock, 2000). The story-
Retelling, reiteration, circularity, repeating, teller must infuse the narrative with his or her
tautology, restatement, echoing, recurrence, re- desired meaning while still adhering to the eth-
capitulation, replication, recitation, rerunning— ics of verisimilitude (Fisher, 1987) and producing
all are common variations on one term: repeti- a tale that at least vaguely resembles his or her
tion. In its simplest form, repetition provides the
experiences. The limits of direct storytelling
building blocks of social systems, for “structure
may be smaller than narrative repetition be-
implies a repetitive relationship between two or
cause events can only be transformed up to a
more individuals” (Goldspink & Kay, 2009: 3).
point, particularly if other individuals were in-
Instead of focusing on mere repetition, however,
volved in the experience (e.g., “the fish wasn’t
here we focus on repetition in narrative. In other
words, rather than seeking to understand the that big”).
function of a ticking clock or a list of rules, we In comparison to direct storytelling, scholars
are interested in the circulation of culture via have given less attention to narrative repetition,
narratives. yet narrative repetition still requires as much
We define narrative repetition as the recur- political artfulness as mimesis, since the story-
rence of a story. Narrative repetition occurs teller repeats the narrative to serve a particular
when a story is recalled from another narrative function. A teller has to judge how to package
that one has heard (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987). the story so that it elicits a comforting recogni-
Repetitions may also vary in character and ex- tion and remains a repetition. But the narrator
tent, for, being retellings, they are apt to be must also emphasize or deemphasize aspects of
particularly selective. Thus, we acknowledge the narrative so that it serves his or her own
that although the entire story may have actually means. To engender a desired response, these
evolved in some ways (Whelan, Huber, Rose, narratives also require imagination, drama, and
Davies, & Clandinin, 2010), the general spirit or influence. In narrative repetition the storyteller
main idea of the story remains intact. In other can rely on the existing story and infuse it with
words, its essence is repeated. In his research on the same or new meaning. When there is noth-
storytelling in the catering industry, for exam- ing to draw from in an existing story, or if a
ple, Gabriel (2000) noted that on various occa- narrative cannot be molded to fit a specific func-
sions different employees would bring up the tion (perhaps a story about office organization
same story, unprompted. Despite the presence of cannot be retold to elicit change), the teller may
such narratives, few scholars have explored have to search for a new story. Thus, some nar-
narrative repetition and the functionality of re- ratives may fail to travel.
telling stories in organizations. When stories are retold, they serve a specific
Importantly, narrative repetition differs from
purpose or function, whether intentionally or un-
firsthand storytelling—when some event is di-
intentionally (Polster, 1987). During narrative
rectly recalled from real or imagined experience
repetition, a person recounts the same event or
and is then told (reproduced) by a narrator in
narrative, yet the meaning may be new:
story form. Firsthand narratives are a “reproduc-
tion of reality” (Polster, 1987: 26) because anyone The repetition of a previously described event
who tells a story is attempting to recount a past usually serves to change, or add to, the emphasis
set of circumstances. We choose not to include on the meaning of that event. . . . The same event
is presented as more, or less, pleasant, innocent,
these stories as part of narrative repetition, for or important than we had previously believed it
any story would then be classified as a form of to be. It is thus both identical and different: the
narrative repetition. Scholars have referred to fabula elements are the same, but the meaning
direct storytelling as “mimesis”—an imitation or has changed (Bal, 2009: 90 –91).
2014 Dailey and Browning 25

Even two literally identical texts are not “un- the same story may elicit boredom or it may
derstood” as truly identical. Two events are stimulate different audience members. At differ-
never exactly the same (Bal, 2009) because com- ent times a repeated narrative may be brief or
munication is situated in context, so the same more elaborate. Events, both large and small,
story may produce different effects in various can change the direction of a story. Also, each
times and places. For this reason, context and telling or reading of a story produces another
audience are also vital aspects of narrative rep- layer of context (Tsoukas & Hatch, 2001). There-
etition. Certain contexts or audiences may facil- fore, individuals are reflexively engaged in de-
itate narrative repetition, too. For example, new- veloping interpretations and reactions to sto-
comers or younger organizational members may ries. Bruner observed that stories often begin as
hear more repeated stories about work hours, partial expressions and we must compare a sto-
budgets, or hierarchy because they are in the ry’s parts in order to make sense of the whole
process of learning organizational norms. narrative. As he states, “Since the meanings of
Having defined narrative and narrative repe- the parts of a story are ‘functions’ of the story as
tition, we can now consider their functions in a whole, and, at the same time, the story as a
organizations. whole depends on its formation of appropriate
constituent parts, story interpretation seems ir-
Functions of Narrative Repetition retrievably hermeneutic” (Bruner, 2005: 28). Nar-
in Organizations ratives are also responsive to time and space,
and, therefore, meanings of a story are not fixed
To explore the functions of narrative repeti- or determined. In other words:
tion in organizations, we followed the method-
As humans we tell our stories, we attempt to
ology of Martin and colleagues (1983) and sys- make our narrative meaningful to the listener, to
tematically searched for examples of repeated help them see connections and participate. In
organizational stories in the academic organi- each telling, the narrative may change as we
zational literature. We counted narratives as respond to the reactions of participants. We may
“repetitive” when (a) stories were restated to draw on other stories as comparisons, embellish-
ments, to situate our narrative in a broader dis-
others or (b) organizational members heard the
cursive space, or orient the listener by linking our
stories from someone else. To be clear, we story to theirs (Luhman & Boje, 2001: 166).
did not consider narratives “repetitive” when
interviewees recounted stories to researchers, The capacity of a narrative to vary in punctu-
since we could not determine if such retellings ation, pace, and participant composition means
would be naturally occurring or elicited. that narratives are structurally complex. From a
Once we had collected these stories, we the- complexity perspective, narrative is contextual-
matically organized them by their purpose or, ized and emergent (Luhman & Boje, 2001).
using Barthes’ (1975) conception, by their narra- Because the functions of narrative repetition
tive function. In many cases the storyteller, lis- are situated in time and space, one term cannot
tener, or researcher explicitly stated the pur- adequately capture the flexibility of a narrative.
pose(s) of the retelling. Besides identifying the Concepts that are too complex for a single word
functions of repeated stories, we also drew from require a duality (Cooper & Burrell, 1988). Thus,
narrative theory, organization theory, communi- we present the functions of narrative repetition
cation theory, and social psychology to under- as dualities, which Farjoun defines as “the two-
stand why narrative repetition may serve these fold character of an object of study without sep-
various functions. Although we choose to use aration,” in which two essential elements are
the term function, we are not suggesting that viewed as “interdependent, rather than sepa-
every narrative fits into each function in any rate and opposed” (2010: 203). Individuals may
rational or normative sense (Hendricks, 1972; repeat narratives over time for different func-
Pentland & Feldman, 2007). tions, or the same story may contain multiple
Classifying narrative repetition in terms of its (even competing) functions.
various functions is no small task, since narra- For example, Mumby (1987) analyzed the story
tives are displays of subjectivity (Zellmer, Allen, of a lowly security guard, who did not allow the
& Kesseboehmer, 2006), eliciting inherent com- chairman of the board to enter the building be-
plexity and equivocality. Upon multiple tellings, cause the chairman was not wearing the appro-
26 Academy of Management Review January

priate badge. The story simultaneously ex- control their actions. Gabriel noted, for example,
presses the duality of control and resistance. that recounting narratives in the military helps
The guard is attempting to control the situation to “maintain a continuous and tangible level of
by adhering to the rules (“you cannot enter with- anxiety, which permeates the culture of such
out a badge”), no matter who is disobeying. At organizations” (2000: 53). Stories like these en-
the same time, the story shows resistance, since courage a belief or pattern of behavior. McCon-
the chairman could easily dismiss the guard kie and Boss found that “sometimes people did
and her request because of his stature in the in fact do things because the stories had sug-
organization (“the rules don’t apply to me”). gested they do so in certain ways—in other
As this example shows, dualities draw atten- words, the stories both prescribed and rein-
tion to the power of anomalies and contradic- forced certain behaviors” (1986: 197).
tions (Farjoun, 2010), which are ever-present in For example, in his classic ethnography about
narrative. Indeed, in several analyses of narra- the training of surgical residents, Bosk de-
tives, scholars have used dualities to describe scribed how horror stories abound in hospitals.
the conflicts and tensions found among organi- Interestingly, he notes, “I have heard different
zational stories (Chreim, 2005; Martin et al., 1983; physicians-in-training in different types of hos-
Peirano-Vejo & Stablein, 2009). In the present pitals in different geographic regions repeat the
analysis we offer three functions of narrative same horror stories” (1979: 103). One such tale
repetition: control/resistance, differentiation/ materialized when
integration, and stability/change. These three
functions are grounded in an underlying thread a junior student told the following story that he
had heard: A nurse’s aide was assigned to watch
that runs throughout each duality: sameness
a woman on a respirator. A patient at the other
and difference. This framework of sameness end of the hall had a cardiac arrest. The aide left
(which encompasses control, integration, and the room to see what the commotion was about.
stability) and difference (which incorporates re- The patient on the respirator turned her head and
sistance, differentiation, and change) is an ap- the tube kinked. By the time the nurse’s aide
propriate overarching structure for the functions returned, the cardiac monitor indicated a stopped
heart (1979: 108).
of narrative repetition, since this theme is com-
mon in narrative theory. Ricoeur (1984, 1992), for Here stories were shared to teach employees
example, positioned narrative identity as a bal- to act (or not act) in a certain way. Likewise,
ance between sameness (idem) and difference leaders may also recount narratives in an effort
(ipse). The three axes of narrative repetition that to persuade or control business ventures. For
we present next all reflect this overarch- instance:
ing theme.
A green CFO reports to his board that he intends
to invest the company’s free cash to produce
Control/Resistance some additional income. One board member, an
experienced entrepreneur, relates the story of an-
Control. Organizations can use narrative rep- other CFO who proposed to invest his company’s
etition as a means of control—for example, as a cash in a high-yield instrument. The sage on his
way to convey or reinforce acceptable behavior board responded, “No one will remember the ex-
tra l½% you earned. They will remember the $10
(e.g., Martin, 1982; Mumby, 1987). As Polster
million you lost” (Swap, Leonard, Shields, &
notes, “Stories often guide people in how to live Abrams, 2001: 104).
their lives. Sometimes this purpose, clearly in-
tentional, is served by moral or instructional Similarly, in their research examining story-
messages” (1987: 38). When certain stories are telling in elite business careers, Maclean, Har-
circulated that carry a “lesson learned,” they vey, and Chia (2012) noted how powerful leaders
serve as a form of control. Narratives that circu- must (re)frame their accounts to themselves and
late throughout an organization are effective others. One interviewee, Angus, head of a re-
methods of control because “they indoctrinate cruitment company, explicitly stated, “You need
without the subject being aware of being indoc- a story you can sell” (2012: 29). Leaders construct
trinated” (Gabriel, 2000: 113). meaning for others and influence sensemaking
Many individuals repeat narratives to warn or toward their own goal (Gabriel, 2000). This as-
alarm organizational members in an effort to pect of storytelling, referred to as sensegiving, is
2014 Dailey and Browning 27

crucial to the production of belief (Gioia & Chit- if the corner office would want that story to get
tipeddi, 1991; Maitlis & Lawrence, 2007). around.’)” (1991: 110). Some organizational sto-
In one example of sensegiving, Humphreys, ries must be kept “in the loop”—that is, only
Ucbasaran, and Lockett demonstrated how a within the circle— of entitled members to ensure
black jazz musician, Wynton Marsalis, “con- that they remain confidential. Certain organiza-
sciously assumed role of sensegiver by not only tional members may not be told some stories in
inspiring stories but also by selectively (re)tell- order to keep the narrative limited to a set au-
ing stories to shape the future of jazz” (2012: dience. When stories leak outside the loop and
51–52). The authors concluded that “through the get appropriated there, they have the potential
selective re-presentation of stories Marsalis to change—and to backfire. To maintain control
seems to be . . . ensuring that jazz is recognized and guard against the leaking of a story, Boje
as a black musical art form, and establishing found that organizational members would
the economic independence of black musicians” sometimes shorten the length of stories, even
(2012: 52). As an inspirational figure, Marsalis naming stories and then referencing them by
used narrative repetition as a mechanism for code name alone, prohibiting outsiders from de-
leadership and organizing. tecting the retelling. In the following example,
The “fantasy chain” literature also alludes to one employee, Sid, shares some insider news
the persuasive power of narrative repetition. that a rival firm is being sold. Sid uses the
Whereas balance theories (e.g., Heider, 1958; phrases “word is on the street” and “you know”
Newcomb, 1961) suggest that attitudes are to reference “the fuller story that the vendors
changed through dissonance or imbalance, the know but do not expect outsiders to know” (1991:
fantasy chain literature “explains why so much 122):
‘persuasive’ communication simply repeats Word is on the street that they are up for sale,
what the audience already knows” (Bormann, OK? So now you know [CEO] may be the presi-
1972: 399). Storytellers exercise power by fram- dent. . . . But somebody’ll buy him next month and
ing events in a certain way (Lawrence & then he’s going to be gone because you know,
Thomas, 1999) and dropping or adding parts of because you know they’re bringing in their own
people (1991: 122).
the narrative. As stories are retold, “the plastic-
ity and interpretative flexibility of narratives Last, McConkie and Boss’s (1986) research on
also makes them particularly well suited to use organizational stories at Concord, an agency
in political games where individuals and coali- that coordinated research requests for the pub-
tions need often to present information differ- lic, illustrates the controlling mechanism of nar-
ently to different audiences in order to secure rative repetition. In the authors’ interviews with
acquiescence and enthusiasm” (Rhodes & employees, nearly 85 percent of organizational
Brown, 2005: 174). Thus, individuals use storytell- members mentioned the “Firing of Elayne”
ing in organizations to serve their own purposes, story.1 The story recalled a staff member, Elayne
and as a result, certain stories become dominant G., who had been fired in a staff meeting by Mr.
and serve as the norm (Näslund & Pemer, 2012). Jones. Interestingly, “some of those who re-
But another important aspect of the function of ported the story were not hired by Concord until
control rests on which individuals have the as much as nine months after the firing took
power to share a narrative. Some individuals
may have the “rights” to tell a story, whereas 1
The “Firing of Elayne” was described by one employee
others do not (Lawrence & Thomas, 1999). When as such:
stories are repeated, only certain individuals
Everybody talks about it. Maybe Elayne wasn’t the best
are in the know. Narratives may be kept private
worker here; and sometimes she got herself into fights.
among entitled members until the story A lot of people feel that she was upset because she got
“breaks,” at which point the information be- passed over for a job she wanted which she says she
comes part of public knowledge (e.g., a “break- didn’t even know was advertised so she couldn’t com-
ing” news story) or mainstream press (e.g., the pete. Anyway, in a staff meeting, with the whole staff
there (about 100 people) she challenged Mr. D., and he
reporter “broke” the scandal story). According to
just gave her a cold stare and said, “Elayne, you’re
Boje, “Part of knowing how to behave in a story- fired!” That was it! No explanation, no nothing! “You’re
telling organization is knowing who can tell and fired!” We all sat like dumbies [sic], just scared, won-
who can be told a particular story (‘I don’t know dering if we’d be next (McConkie, 1980: 218).
28 Academy of Management Review January

place. In short, it had rippled throughout the Most organizations bear stories of resistance.
organization” (1986: 193). The Firing of Elayne Kassing (2002) collected employees’ accounts of
tale epitomizes indirect social control. When re- upward dissent and identified “repetition” as a
searchers asked employees what effect the story distinct strategy through which employees ex-
had on their behavior (note that employees were pressed their disagreement or contradictory
allowed to give more than one response), twen- opinions. Although Kassing did not focus on nar-
ty-six of the responses were that the story ratives in particular, he found that employees
“warned me not to anger Jones,” another seven would continue “to draw attention to one’s dis-
that the story “made me cautious about who I sent across time— either verbally or behavioral-
confronted,” and six that the story “made me ly—and often collectively with other employees”
avoid contact with Jones.” The spreading of the (2002: 196). For example, one employee who was
narrative through the organization had a pow- seeking a promotion admitted, “I talked about
erful effect on employee behavior. my situation several times” (2002: 198).
The Firing of Elayne tale functioned as a con- Although employees might mention their dis-
trol mechanism among employees. However, agreement or contradictory opinions repeatedly,
narrative repetition gives stories the power to resistance stories may be difficult for research-
serve dual purposes simultaneously. Thus, the ers to procure. Tracy (2000) described how cruise
story also served as a means of resistance for staff developed “hidden transcripts”— dis-
employees. courses that occur beyond direct observation of
“I was always afraid,” said one rather timid those in power (Scott, 1990)— by repeating stupid
woman, “to say anything bad about Mr. Jones, questions and what-if stories to make fun of
because I was afraid it might get me in trouble. passengers. A resistance narrative may also ap-
But somehow, when I heard the story about pear in the form of a rumor (Hafen, 2004), which
Elayne and how she got fired, I just needed to
talk. And people seemed to understand, and want
“is not only an opportunity for anonymous, pro-
to talk to me as well.” In short, the common tected communication, but also serves as a ve-
shared experience opened an otherwise closed hicle for anxieties and aspirations that may not
door (McConkie & Boss, 1986: 198). be openly acknowledged by its propagators”
Aligning with Farjoun’s (2010) notion of a du- (Scott, 1990: 145).
ality, control cannot exist without pockets of re- For instance, Murphy’s research showed that
sistance; the two are interdependent. In Weick’s when flight attendants learned their bags would
concept of a loosely coupled system, overload- be randomly checked, one said, “I don’t know if
ing a system at one point causes it to well up it is true or not, but I heard there was a flight
and spill over in a contrasting way (Orton & attendant who was fired just for taking a carton
Weick, 1990; Weick, 1974). In the next section we of milk off the airplane,” and another flight at-
explore the contradictory yet complementary tendant contended, “I heard there was an entire
side of control. crew based in Cincinnati fired for taking aspirin
Resistance. The necessary corollary of control and milk off the airplane” (Murphy, 1998: 518).
is that of resistance (Foucault, 1977). Resistance Murphy suggests these stories— clearly exam-
and control are “inextricably and simultane- ples of narrative repetition—represent a way for
ously linked, often in contradictory ways” (Jer- employees to “release their frustrations about a
mier, Knights, & Nord, 1994: 29). Although certain dominating policy” (1998: 519). In addition, Mur-
stories are repeated to influence or exert power, phy notes that by sharing such stories, flight
other narratives may function to promote resis- attendants could form strategies to resist bag
tance. Indeed, stories feed on differences and searching. One employee prudently shared:
destabilize and disturb the order of “reason” My friend, Ann, she was going to state that they
(Lyotard, 1984: 61). In proliferating stories of re- could only do that if they suspected her of drugs.
sistance, narratives may counter social norms or If they said that they did, she would say that it
was against her wishes and without her permis-
organizational power structures. Furthermore,
sion. That way, if they can’t substantiate a drug
individuals may blatantly oppose the previous charge, you could sue them for invasion of pri-
narrative or offer resistance more subtly— vacy. That is how I am going to handle it
through cynicism, irony, or ridicule. (1998: 519).
2014 Dailey and Browning 29

Indeed, hearing stories of how others resisted Sherron Watkins made allegations “solely on
(or would resist) the organization or its policies rumors that she heard during the two months
may give employees inspiration for opposition. she was working in Enron Global Finance” (Hil-
In their research on the counterinstitutional lon, Smith, & Isaacs, 2005: 19). Richardson and
website RadioShackSucks.com, Gossett and McGlynn (2011) examined resistance narratives
Kilker (2006) shared former employees’ stories of by exploring whistle-blowing cases in colle-
quitting the organization and encouraging fel- giate sports. Among the thirteen cases exam-
low “shackers” to explore other job opportuni- ined, whistle-blowers had retold stories of orga-
ties. The authors found that hearing the same nizational wrongdoings, including academic
stories over and over had a powerful effect, with fraud, academic integrity issues, and unsanc-
several employees claiming that reading about tioned financial compensation. Richardson and
others’ experiences motivated them to leave. McGlynn found that organizational members
Namely, one employee wrote, “I would just like who repeated stories of a team’s wrongdoings
to say thank you to all those out there who have were confronted with isolation, unfavorable la-
continued to encourage me to get off my butt bels, and even death threats from rabid sports
and change my life” (2006: 74). fans because they resisted the organization’s
Organizations may also use oppositional sto- desire for secrecy.
ries strategically— using past stories of resis- Circulating untruthful information or lies may
tance to their advantage. Boje (1995) discussed also exemplify narrative repetition that serves
how Michael Eisner, former Disney CEO, re- to resist organizational rules or circumvent pun-
counted one of Walt Disney’s stories, which de- ishment. In his ethnography of police officers,
scribed a boy’s desire to march in the circus Van Maanen (1973) described how policemen
parade. The moral of the story was to try new teach recruits that “nobody’s perfect” but to
things and not to fear failure. Eisner repeated cover up mistakes. For instance, a two-year vet-
Disney’s story at the 1984 stockholders’ meeting eran recounted this story about him and his pa-
to persuade shareholders to take a chance and trol partner, Grayson:
push back on the conservative strategy Disney
previously had for the company. Grayson had this dolly he’d been balling for quite
a while living over on the north side. Well, it
Retelling narratives about failed resistance seemed like a quiet night so we cruise out of our
may also have an effect on organizational mem- district and over to the girl’s house. I babysit the
bers’ resistance (or lack thereof). Holmer- radio while Grayson goes inside. Wouldn’t you
Nadesan’s research about the identity of women know it, we get a emergency call right away. . . . I
service workers found “five individuals [who] start honking the horn trying to get the horny
bastard out of there; he pays me no mind, but the
repeated an organizational narrative about a
neighbors get kind of irritated at some cop wak-
service worker who had taken secretarial skills ing up the nine-to-fivers. . . . Pretty soon Sparky
classes, but had been unable to transfer. For and Jim show up to find out what’s happening.
some, this impression led to a sense of hopeless- They’re cool but their Sergeant ain’t, so we fabri-
ness: ‘I feel trapped in the role I am [in]’” (1996: cate this insane story ‘bout Sparky’s girlfriend
69). In hearing about another service worker’s living there and how he always toots the horn
when passing. . . . Nobody ever found out what
failed attempt to resist her identity, women felt happened, but it sure was close (1973: 413).
as if they were stuck in their current position.
Furthermore, narrative repetition may serve Stories of resistance are often “risky” and
the function of resistance when organizations therefore may only be repeated for certain audi-
do not want stories retold. For example, “orga- ences. For example, Lawrence and Thomas
nizations rarely encourage open discussion of (1999) suggest that at IBM a software developer
issues of sexual harassment and often call for may have to tell a story about a project that goes
confidentiality when dealing with the com- against upper management’s version of the
plaints” (Clair, 1993: 116). Whistle-blowing is a story. In this case the developer may disclose
type of resistance because whistle-blowers re- his or her narrative to certain team members but
peat stories that the organization does not not to upper management. In addition, the au-
want disclosed. Importantly, whistle-blowing thors note that “storytellers also temper risk by
does not require firsthand knowledge of wrong- attempting to elicit group endorsement of a
doings; in fact, celebrated Enron whistle-blower story they propose to tell, before launching into
30 Academy of Management Review January

the story (‘Did you hear what happened to Os- “struggled to find a different way to represent
car?’)” (1999: 2). the organization” (Barry & Elmes, 1997: 445). In
the end, employees of the company came to-
gether to create a strategic narrative. Interest-
Differentiation/Integration ingly, narrative repetition played a key role in
Differentiation. Both organizations and indi- the creation and embodiment of the organiza-
viduals differentiate and sustain a unique iden- tion’s story. Barry and Elmes explain:
tity through narrative. We answer the question Story-telling groups were re-arranged so these
“Who am I?” or “Who are we?” through reflexive stories could be told to different people and in
narrative (Alvesson & Willmott, 2002). Collec- different ways (quite a few stories were converted
tively and apart, people need a coherent story into songs and skits). Gradually, the repeated
tellings seemed to come together in a complex,
(Czarniawska, 1997).
dialogical way (with many interconnected yet
We form communities through narrative ac- separate tales having been told). The new direc-
counts (Carr, 1986; Rappaport, 2000), and “or- tions embodied in the overall narrative became
ganizations exist to tell their collective sto- touchstones for changes in day-to-day actions
ries” (Boje, 1995: 1000). Martin and colleagues (1997: 446).
(1983) described how all organizations strive
Sharing and retelling stories enabled the orga-
toward uniqueness, seeking to distinguish
nization to coalesce around a strategic narrative
themselves as a different enterprise from other
and to emerge as a world leader in its industry.
entities.
In addition to distinguishing an organiza-
Individuals create an organization’s identity,
tion’s identity, narratives that are repeated in
in part, through “organizational sagas,” an ex-
organizations also serve to differentiate certain
pression coined by Clark (1970) to describe a
collection of stories about an organization’s individuals’ identity in the organization, circu-
past. By studying the content of liberal arts col- late a particular character, and maintain a per-
lege sagas, Clark found commonalities among son’s spirit over time. Such narratives solidify
many institutions’ content. Narratives were re- and/or challenge an established role identity in
told to show the unique qualities of each orga- the organization. Individual identity is “formed
nization and promote a distinct organizational and maintained through actual or imagined in-
identity. Clark also found that terpersonal agreement about what the self is
like” (Schlenker, 1986: 23), which often occurs
the favorable impression created by the saga
helped those people to justify their commitment through repeated stories about the individual.
of years, even a lifetime, of time and effort to that Bruner (2002) goes so far as to claim that “self-
particular organization. Thus a collection of sto- hood” only exists because we can tell stories
ries . . . served to generate commitment to an or- about ourselves.
ganization’s culture, philosophy, beliefs and/or
In organizations, people commonly share sto-
its policies (quoted in Martin, 1982: 264).
ries of identity creation and maintenance about
Narrative repetition plays a pivotal role in the founder or CEO of the organization. In his
defining an organization’s unique strategy as research on story performance in organizations,
well. As Barry and Elmes observe: Boje described a story that was repeated in
From a narrative perspective, the successful stra- many office conversations:
tegic story may depend less on such tools as Doug, in almost his first meeting with the execu-
comprehensive scanning, objective planning, or
tives, uprooted a “reserved for the CEO” (one was
meticulous control/feedback systems and more
also reserved for each of the VPs) parking sign
on whether it stands out from other organiza-
and threw it on the executive meeting table, de-
tional stories, is persuasive, and invokes retell-
ing (1997: 433). manding to know “who put up this sign? This
is not the kind of leadership I will have around
In their theoretical piece, Barry and Elmes here.” The offending executive, for this and other
share an example of strategic narrative con- good reasons, was fired by week’s end. This story
made the rounds and reinforced Doug’s image as
struction, one that centers on a large-scale
the reformer who would not put up with special
transformation at a European aluminum pro- privileges for executives. This Doug-as-savior
ducer. The organization was seeking to “lift the theme resurfaces in stories from vendors and cus-
company to a new plateau” (Parker, 1990: 14) but tomers (1991: 119).
2014 Dailey and Browning 31

Similarly, in her study of workplace gossip, tive to differentiate their organization, the story
Hafen described how an employee of an organi- simultaneously bonds members of that unit. Dif-
zation, Eva, “heard many stories, ‘mostly very ferentiation and integration are mutually en-
favorable,’ about former executives of the com- abling, because when there is a “they,” there is
pany. Her favorite was about a former executive a “we.”
vice president ‘who took actions based on com- Integration. Although retold narratives help to
ments he heard from a complete stranger on an create unique identities, they also help to inte-
airplane’” (2004: 232). Even though Eva never met grate or unite, serving as an organizational glue
the former VP, she believed that he was a good or bond between members. From the linguistics
listener. literature, Norrick (1997) shows that retelling fa-
In addition to stories about organizational miliar stories serves to foster group rapport and
leaders, many narratives are repeated about ratify group membership. In one case a family’s
other unique employees. In his research at an mother, Pat, describes a party she attended
engineering firm, Owen (1987) found that spe- where she retold a family story to her friends.
cific “stories were commonly shared among Pat informs her family, “And I told the story
those ‘on the benches.’ The exploits of ‘Serendip- about you and the little chipmunk out in the
ity Sam,’ a researcher who had accumulated the garage” (1997: 205). Norrick notes that even
most ‘Golden Fleece’ awards, continued the leg- though stories may be retold primarily for
end of excitement and innovation” (quoted in amusement, they enhance feelings of a family’s
Deal, 1990: 11). Through this repetition, Sam’s unity and bond.
identity was created and sustained. Repetition may integrate foibles as well. In an
In sum, it is through narrative repetition that organizational context, new members of Alco-
organizational and individual identities are in- holics Anonymous are brought into the group by
stitutionally and socially constructed (e.g., building on stories:
Ravasi & Schultz, 2006). We rely on stories for One speaker follows another by picking out cer-
constructing meaning and organizing action tain pieces of what has been said, saying why it
(Gioia, 1986). Identities are continually con- was relevant to him, and elaborating on it with
structed (Gabriel, 1999) to differentiate individu- some episode of his own. . . . Other speakers will
als and organizations. This notion supports an take the appropriate parts of the newcomer’s
comments, and build on this in their own com-
approach to identity that is fluid and frag- ments, giving parallel accounts with different in-
mented (Brown, 2006; Chreim, 2005), as opposed terpretations . . . or expanding on parts of their
to perspectives that view identity as stable or own stories which are similar to parts of the new-
enduring (Ashforth & Mael, 1996). comer’s stories, while ignoring the inappropriate
Yet repeated stories can both differentiate parts of the newcomer’s story (Lave & Wenger,
1991: 83).
and integrate organizational members. In her
study of firefighters, Myers notes that newcom- By giving parallel accounts of a general story,
ers or “booters” felt unique or differentiated, AA participants repeat shared narratives, thus
since “each of them had heard stories about how uniting members. In this way narrative repeti-
badly other booters were treated, but the real tion helps incorporate individuals into the group
mistreatment always seemed to happen at other by referencing and building on members’
stations” (2005: 367). Thus, stories repeated about commonalities.
abuse served to define their station and how it Moreover, stories allow individuals to be inte-
was distinct. But this example also highlights grated as organizational members. Through so-
the duality of differentiation and integration; cialization, organizations teach members “the
just as retelling stories about maltreatment sep- ropes” and assimilate newcomers into the orga-
arated booters from other stations, it integrated nization (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). As mem-
them with their current station. In her analysis bers move through the stages of socialization—
Myers continues by stating, “Each commented anticipatory, encounter, metamorphosis, and
on how lucky he was to be at his particular exit (to use Jablin’s [1987, 2001] terms)—stories
station, because ‘they are really good to me act as a form of sensemaking for both newcom-
here’” (2005: 367). This illustration shows both ers and incumbents (Brown, 1985; Weick & Rob-
“poles” of the differentiation and integration du- erts, 1993). In writing about the importance of
ality. Even though people may repeat a narra- stories in organizational settings, Martin notes,
32 Academy of Management Review January

“Such stories are told to new employees— Industry International, a manufacturing organi-
informally during breaks and formally in train- zation, through stories from family and friends.
ing programs and speeches—to explain ‘how As one employee, Chuck, recalled, “I listened to
things are done around here’” (1982: 256). Im- my relatives talk about working at Industry In-
portantly, narratives are repeated to new ternational all the time. Our friends and family
members to give them a sense of the organi- all worked there too” (2000: 78). Through their
zation’s history and culture. Furthermore, Siehl analysis, the authors explain that during the
and Martin (1982) assessed sales trainees’ process of organizational socialization, certain
knowledge of four narratives and found that cor- individuals undergo “organizational osmosis,”
porate values and norms are learned rapidly absorbing and adopting the organization’s cul-
through organizational stories. Wilkins (1984) ture. John, for example, recalled being indoctri-
also demonstrated how managers use narrative nated into Industry International during dinner
to inform employees about their preferred orga- table conversations:
nizational cultures. The whole time I was growing up, I used to sit at
Stohl’s (1986) research on memorable messag- the kitchen table and listen to my relatives talk
es— communicative events that have a major about Industry International. I knew all about the
influence on an individual and are thus remem- piece-rate system and how it works. I kinda’ un-
derstood what it was like to work in a factory
bered for a long period of time—shows the im- even before I got there. When I finally got a job at
portance of narrative repetition in the socializa- Industry International, hell, it was like a family
tion process. Interestingly, employees often picnic. I already knew most of the guys I would be
pass their memorable story on to someone else working with and I had already been told about
in the organization, which shows how these what to do and what not to do by listening to my
relatives talk all the time (2000: 79).
messages socialize the individual and resocial-
ize tenured organizational members as well. For By being exposed to narrative repetition outside
example, Deal’s research on educational lead- of the organization, individuals can become in-
ership demonstrates the value of narrative rep- tegrated into the company even before they be-
etition in integrating teachers— both new gin working there.
and old:
Anita McCarthy, principal of Todd Elementary
School in Briar Cliff, New York, convenes a “boot Stability/Change
camp” each year before the opening of school. In
this Mentor Program, seasoned veterans spend Stability. Narrative repetition also functions to
half a day with novice teachers to retell stories of keep the organization and its members consis-
the past. . . . These events bond newcomers to tra- tent over time. Repeated stories anchor the or-
ditions of the school. Even more important, older ganization so that it is not likely to change or
teachers are given an opportunity to renew their
own commitment (1990: 7). fail, since such rhetoric helps affirm and main-
tain publicly shared values (Hart, 1984). Narra-
In addition to socializing employees in the tives shape the perception of invariability, for
company, narrative repetition may help individ- “stories often provide the vehicle for stability
uals who are not even members of the organi- construction and maintenance because they are
zation feel part of its culture, since stories that flexible carriers of meaning” (Peirano-Vejo &
are repeated about an organization allow indi- Stablein, 2009: 445). Institutions rely on the ac-
viduals outside the organization to imagine tion of individuals and organizations—such as
what organizational life is like. In this way nar- the telling of stories—for their reproduction over
rative repetition serves as a form of anticipatory time (Lawrence & Suddaby, 2006). Narratives are
socialization—the process of learning about cer- easily reproducible, durable, and communica-
tain occupations, both directly and indirectly, as ble—the three qualities that “shape the way in
well as forming expectations about organiza- which rationalized patterns are established,
tions (Feldman, 1976; Jablin, 1987, 2001; Van and how they spread and become embedded
Maanen & Schein, 1979). across different instrumental contexts” (Hassel-
In Gibson and Papa’s (2000) study of anticipa- bladh & Kallinikos, 2000: 711).
tory socialization in blue collar work, several Stories create stability in organizations by
participants discussed how they learned about serving as a template for future action, remind-
2014 Dailey and Browning 33

ing us of paths to take and avoid (Stone, 1988). When a woman is making little progress in her
For example, Patriotta’s (2003) research revealed labor, one of her attendants may tell the story of
one of her own births where she had similar trou-
teams on the Mirafiori shop floor who resolve ble and solved it by moving from her hammock to
disruptive occurrences in the plant through “de- a chair. Others may agree, or tell stories of a
tective stories.” In these stories team members different sort, for example, how in the labor of
reproduce the problem through fiction “in order some other woman spoonfuls of a special honey
(from indigenous bees) solved the problem
to reconstruct the dynamic of the incident. . . . (1989: 935).
eventually, solutions are elaborated (most of the
time drawing on the repertoire of similar past Here narrative repetition serves as an “informa-
cases, and sometimes creating new knowledge) tion-packaging function” (Jordan, 1989: 935) to
and sooner or later the problem is solved” (2003: preserve organizational functioning and ensure
362–369). This repetition suggests that the orga- that the baby is delivered.
nization is heedful of organizational break- These examples demonstrate that repeated
downs or interruptions, and team members stories may serve as a benchmark for action
strive to maintain stability in the plant. Patriotta during a crisis (Neustadt & May, 1986). Boje notes
that in a turbulent environment, “when a deci-
noted that emblematic episodes are remem-
sion is at hand, the old stories are recounted and
bered and used as templates for the solution to
compared to unfolding story lines . . . to invite
future problems. In addition to telling how a
the repetition of past successes” (1991: 106). By
single incident was resolved, retellings provide
taking into account how an issue has been ad-
a blueprint “to predict future organizational be-
dressed in the past, organizations can use these
havior— one’s own behavior as well as the be- stories to maintain stability.
havior of other employees” (Martin, 1982: 287). In addition to binding an organization to its
In his detailed ethnographic studies of service past, repeated narratives also create a fixed
technicians, Orr (1990) noted a similar phenom- course for a company’s future. Moreover, Feld-
enon. When technicians encounter a problem man’s (2003) research on budget routines in a
with a machine, they tell stories to reflect on university housing division shows how narra-
memories of failed machines, tests that have tives may keep an organization from changing.
been run in the past, and the machine’s re- The study takes a performative perspective to-
sponses to prior solutions. In one instance this ward routines, proposing a recursive relation-
storytelling process was “a five-hour effort . . . ship between understandings and perfor-
[and] yielded a dozen anecdotes told during the mances. Feldman defines performances as
trouble shooting, taking a variety of forms and “actions that are signified in that they are
serving a variety of purposes” (1990: 10). Over known to others in the organization. People have
time, the storytelling provides insights to diag- picked them out of the stream of ongoing actions
nosis and repair. Importantly, technician reps and communicated about them” (2003: 729). From
recycle and repeat these stories. As Brown and these performances, organizational members
Duguid note: gain an understanding of how the organization
operates, and employees determine what ac-
Such stories are passed around, becoming part of
the repertoire available to all reps. Orr reports tions make up a specific routine. In the study
hearing a concise, assimilated version of this Feldman found that members relied on past and
particular false error code passed among reps reproduced performances, which inhibited new
over a game of cribbage in the lunch room routines and organizational change. Interest-
three months later. . . . A story, once in the pos- ingly, though, Feldman takes a structurational
session of the community, can then be used—and
approach and argues that performances both
further modified—in similar diagnostic sessions
(1991: 44). constrain and enable routines. Thus, “the mech-
anisms of change and the mechanisms of sta-
Jordan (1989) also offers a useful example of bility are the same” (2003: 729), highlighting the
stories that are retold in the moment to solve duality between stability and change.
problems and maintain order. In midwifery, sto- Furthermore, the stability/change duality is
ries of similar cases or issues are often re- present in Chreim’s (2005) research, which de-
counted among attendants as a guide for how to scribes how a Canadian bank’s identity shifted
proceed in a birth: over time, from an old, traditional, and conser-
34 Academy of Management Review January

vative bank to a modern and innovative organi- tegic changes. The authors found, for instance,
zation. Yet during this change, there was conti- that managers repeatedly encouraged employ-
nuity in the words that people used to describe ees to take personal responsibility. At an annual
the bank. The labels remained, yet their mean- retreat one manager told a story about a scene
ing changed over time. For example, the “first” from the movie Patton, which resonated with
label was used throughout senior managers’ employees and sparked change:
narratives, but shifted from signifying the bank There’s a scene in the movie where they’re ad-
as old (“We were the first bank in Canada”) to vancing on Germanyen . . . and Patton jumps in a
innovative (“We continued to set the pace for the jeep, goes to the front line and says, “What’s
Canadian industry with our newest first, conti- holding this column up? Get moving!” They say,
nent-wide banking”; 2005: 576). Chreim de- “We can’t” and there is this French peasant on
this bridge, with this sort of cart and these two
scribes the presence of both stability and donkeys which won’t move, and Patton saying,
change in narratives as “confluence.” Just like “You’re meaning to tell me my men are being
when two rivers merge and the waters of one shot, my equipment is being blasted out of the air
stream meet the waters of another, confluence because these donkeys won’t move!” He pulls out
describes the state of the two flowing together in his guns and he shoots the donkeys. . . . This
theme has just swept like wildfire and we’ve got
harmony. this email sort of thing and hardly a week goes by
Scholars have also conceptualized the pro- without somebody saying, “I shot the donkey!”
cess of organizing as a balancing act between (2000: 1219).
stability and change. This view acknowledges
Furthermore, a powerful example of narrative
that organizations are shifting social realities;
repetition being used for the purpose of change
change is the typical state of organized life, and
comes from McConkie and Boss’s (1986) study of
any sense of continuity is hard to achieve (Pei-
stories at Concord. In addition to the Firing of
rano-Vejo & Stablein, 2009; Tsoukas & Chia,
Elayne story previously mentioned as an exam-
2002). In analyzing stories about change in a
ple of control/resistance, the authors discuss an-
farming organization, Peirano-Vejo and Stablein
other story that was promulgated to engender
(2009) identified five conflicting issues in which
change at Concord. Specifically, Concord chose
the duality of stability and change was present.
two members to write a story that would serve
For example, the authors demonstrated the ten-
as a model to improve Concord employee be-
sion between past (stability) and future (change)
havior. According to McConkie and Boss’s re-
through an institutional video, where the narra-
search, Concord’s CEO then asked that copies of
tor intermingles past and future tenses and “sto-
the story, which the employees had titled “The
ries are told and retold in ways that go back and
Parable of Happy Employee,”2 be distributed to
forth communicating the message that stability
and change can co-exist” (2009: 451).
Change. In reviewing narratives throughout 2
the literature, we have found that the most work The “Parable of the Happy Employee”:
has been done on change. Narrative repetition Happy Employee, undaunted by economic tough times
can effectively disseminate change, because and the unfriendly receptions of Employment Directors
throughout the land, finally secured a much-desired
when a story is told that resonates with the
interview with a Department Head at Concord. Follow-
listener, people get behind the idea and join in ing the interview, the Department Head introduced
spreading the story (Brown, Humphreys, & Gur- Happy to the Director, who also interviewed him, and
ney, 2005). Stories can circulate fast throughout concurred in the Department Head’s decision to hire
an organization’s social fabric, which makes Happy. Once hired, Happy was assigned a “big
brother” (female employees receive “big sisters”) who
narrative repetition a useful mechanism in or-
guided Happy through the first few months at Concord.
ganizational change efforts. Stories can be used Meanwhile, the Department Head joined with appro-
as a “deliberate tool for strategy formation and priate personnel to see that Happy received an orien-
development,” for they give people a picture of tation about Concord and developed a calendar, which
the future to rally behind (Rasmussen, 2005: 229). specified dates upon which Happy and the Department
Head, every other week for two weeks, would review
Organizations often strategically introduce
Happy’s progress. Happy set goals with his Department
stories to induce change. Dunford and Jones Head, the substance of which was reflected in organi-
(2000) investigated recurring narratives from zational goals, and which were appraised on a periodic
managers when they were communicating stra- basis (McConkie, 1980: 219).
2014 Dailey and Browning 35

staff members. The artificial narrative was then ple, reminds his colleagues of parallel compa-
spread throughout the organization, which facil- nies in a meeting about the strategic shift in the
itated cultural and behavioral changes at focus of his firm:
Concord: Looking at acquisitions and mergers in our indus-
It was not long until copies of the “Parable” be- try, and I’ve been through four or five of ‘em,
gan to crop up all over the organization—pinned disaster hits. And I’ll give you examples of
to bulletin boards, taped to windows and desks, Gamma Corporation. I was with the old Delphi
on walls and doors, and, in one case, on the doors Company and it’s nonexistent today. They
of the elevator. The question “Are you happy?” merged with Alpha. And then they merged with
became a standard part of performance inter- Parrot. All the same ownership and so on. Clearly
views and was a way of asking not only “How are the sales force was on overload. Couldn’t handle
you?” but also if one felt that he or she was being it and a lot of things fell through the cracks. I can
treated the way a “Happy Employee” should have give you similar examples with Juindon. I can go
been treated (McConkie & Boss, 1986: 194). right down the list (Boje, 1991: 118).

In this example management effectively used This repeated story (and the claim that many
narrative repetition as a strategy to foster similar stories could be told) functions to foster
change in the organization. change. Organizations draw from others’ expe-
Besides being utilized at the managerial riences and learn from their actions through
level, narrative repetition serves to promote narrative repetition: “When this company did
‘A,’ ‘B’ occurred and the output was ‘C,’ and ‘C’ is
change at the organizational level. For example,
different from ‘A’” (Brown, Denning, Groh, & Pru-
in order to reform a school in Fairfax County,
sak, 2005: 47– 48). In the same way that babies
Virginia, the district created a historical video,
develop faster if they have siblings to learn
which included stories, photos, and testimonies
from, organizations can also learn by example.
of the school’s development from its early ori-
Repeated stories can shape organizational de-
gins to the present day. Through “watching chil-
velopment and change efforts.
dren walking through mud to attend a one-room
But even when strategic narratives are dis-
school and hearing an older teacher describe
seminated, “the success of a strategic story may
how she often got down on her hands and knees
depend less on such tools as environmental
to wash and oil the classroom floor,” teachers
analysis and strategic planning than on
and administrators were able to draw from his-
whether it is an engaging, compelling account
toric educational practices to renew and change
that encourages the actions desired by the au-
the spirit of their school system (Deal, 1990: 7).
thors of the narrative” (Dunford & Jones, 2000:
Also at a macro level, Leonardi and Jackson’s 1209). This may explain why stories may also
(2004) research demonstrates how organiza- have a negative influence on organizational
tional leaders at Qwest drew on discourse that change (Feldman, 1990). Because individuals
was already popular in their industry—specifi- make sense of stories in a multitude of ways,
cally, narratives of technological determinism, there are a number of different interpretations of
which positioned that technology causes a change narrative (Näslund & Pemer, 2012). For
change. The authors noted this as an example of example, in their study of a merger, Brown and
“appropriated stories,” in which master social Humphreys (2003) found that organizational
narratives are strategically used for organiza- members developed multiple (and different ep-
tional objectives, such as change. For Qwest, the ic/tragic) stories and understandings of the
story of technological determinism aided the or- change. This finding may be of particular impor-
ganization in positioning IT implementation as tance for stories of change that are repeated to
an inevitable change. multiple organizational audiences (employees,
In this case, stories from other organizations stakeholders, etc.) over time.
were repeated as mechanisms of change. Simi-
larly, narrative repetition can aid in change be-
cause stories that are repeated over time can
DISCUSSION
serve as an example for organizations. When
stories from other organizations are retold, they In this article we present a framework to ac-
are used as models—the “same old story”—to count for the complex functions that narrative
guide organizational change. Doug, for exam- repetition may serve in the process of organiz-
36 Academy of Management Review January

ing. We propose three functions of narrative rep- derstood by these three functions and the
etition, which are best represented as dualities: broader category of sameness and difference.
control/resistance, differentiation/integration, For example, many medical narratives offer a
and stability/change. Just as Boje supported a restitution function (things will get better) or a
“theory of organization as a collective storytell- disintegration function (this is our last option).
ing system” (1991: 106), we append that collec- Instead of adding another duality (for this func-
tive storytelling systems often recirculate narra- tion or others), restitution may be seen as a
tives, which promote various organizational return to sameness or stability, whereas disin-
functions. This conceptual piece generates ad- tegration marks a path of difference, uncer-
ditional insight into the topic of narrative by tainty, and a marked change in course. There-
focusing on stories that are repeated in organi- fore, we maintain that these three dualities
zations, which we believe adds to theory in sev- serve as the primary framework for narrative
eral ways. repetition.
Narrative repetition contributes to manage- Narrative repetition also adds to management
ment and narrative theory by explaining the and narrative theory by helping capture the
process by which the meaning of stories shifts complexity embedded in narrative. We propose
and how multiple meanings may simultane- these functions as dualities because “contradic-
ously exist. When two organizational members tory aspects of the issue are inevitably present
hear the same story, one may interpret a narra- and are simultaneously desirable and undesir-
tive of stability, whereas the other may hear a able” (Martin et al., 1983). The “poles” of each
hint of change. As such, narrative repetition duality are interdependent and mutually en-
may uniquely explain how stories are contested abling. Whereas scholars frequently examine
and changed over time. Memories or under- the stability/change duality (Chreim, 2005; Far-
standings of events, people, and organizations joun, 2010; Peirano-Vejo & Stablein, 2009), they
can be shifted by the simple act of repetition. rarely discuss the other two dualities. Of little
Narrative repetition explains why the “same” surprise, resistance narratives are underrepre-
story may have various interpretations, details, sented in the literature compared to control
and effects. Meanings vary through retellings narratives.
because an individual may share a story for one Because it helps capture the complexity of
purpose but the listener derives a different stories and the dualities inherent in storytelling,
meaning. As described by Näslund and Pemer, narrative repetition may add to the related liter-
“The processes of storytelling and sensemaking ature on organizational gossip. Scholars ac-
are by nature iterative and recursive, assigning knowledge the complex nature of gossip be-
meaning to concepts that are then used for fur- cause it serves a variety of functions (e.g.,
ther sensemaking and storytelling” (2012: 92). influence, entertainment, integration, and
Because of the recursive and interpretive nature power) at both the individual and group level
of narrative, dualities are likely to overlap, and (Kniffin & Wilson, 2010; Kurland & Pelled, 2000;
narratives may serve not only contradictory but Noon & Delbridge, 1993). Yet because of its com-
simultaneous functions. Indeed, many of the plexity, management research surrounding gos-
narratives discussed in this article tell stories sip is scant (Kurland & Pelled, 2000; Noon &
that serve multiple functions. Different dualities Delbridge, 1993). Narrative repetition may ex-
may be present or absent depending on the tend theory and research about gossip by help-
storyteller’s and listener’s interpretation of the ing to account for its complexity, since the dual-
narrative. Much like Boje’s (1995) piece on the play ities presented here may offer another lens
Tamara, every telling of narrative is potentially through which to view organizational gossip.
different. Because of the organic nature of stories, Although not all gossip may be considered nar-
there exists plurivocity or the opportunity for mul- rative repetition (not all gossip consists of re-
tiple understandings. One listener might only in- peated stories), gossip and retellings are implic-
terpret a narrative as differentiating, whereas an- itly related because gossip gains momentum
other listener may construe the story as when it is passed on or repeated to others (Hou-
functioning to differentiate and control. manfar & Johnson, 2004; Michelson & Mouly,
Despite various possible interpretations, we 2002). Exploring gossip from the perspective of
contend that all narrative repetition may be un- narrative repetition may uniquely contribute to
2014 Dailey and Browning 37

the literature by explaining how gossip spreads about retelling or narrative repetition as defined
while serving multiple functions. here. What happens when a story is recalled
Narrative repetition can also contribute to the from another narrative that one has heard?
development of core theoretical concepts in Organizations are teeming with instances of
management and organization studies, such as narrative repetition. Yet scholars often regard
identity, legitimacy, leadership, or resistance. instances of repetition as an indication of satu-
As a case in point, consider Glynn’s (2000) field- ration in qualitative research. Future research
work at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which should start to view recurring stories as a start-
describes how one organizational crisis—the ing point for a new line of research rather than
1996 musicians’ strike—was the result of latent the end point of data collection. This major shift
rifts between the socially constructed identities could highlight the complexity, richness, and
of musicians and administrators. In her research distinctiveness of narrative research.
Glynn (2000: 288) explains how the conflicting
organizational identities of artistry (“a world
class orchestra in a world class city”) versus Implications for Future Research
utility (“the best orchestra we can afford”) had a Seventeen years ago Barry and Elmes (1997)
significant effect on the perceptions of the or- forecasted that changes to organizations (be-
chestra’s core competencies. Although this qual- coming more lean, flat, virtual, etc.) would ne-
itative field study did not formally address nar- cessitate new forms of narrative theory in the
rative, one could imagine how narrative future. The authors noted that shifts in
repetition could help account for the complexity organizations
of organizational identity at the Atlanta Sym-
will require narratives that can cope with blurred
phony Orchestra. In organizations with hybrid organizational boundaries (Hirschhorn &
identities, “whose identity is composed of two or Gilmore, 1992), dispersed intelligibilities, diverse
more types that would not normally be expected realities, disrupted chains of authority, and ero-
to go together” (Albert & Whetten, 1985: 270), sion of organizational autonomy (Gergen, 1995:
scholars could collect and analyze the dual 524 –526). Singular readings of strategic narra-
tives, where model readers arrive at like interpre-
functions of repeated stories in the organization. tations, will increasingly be a thing of the
Beyond this example, narrative repetition con- past. . . . the growing preponderance of “encoun-
tributes to the field of management in several ter”-based organizations . . . [with] short-term,
other ways. Scholars have expressed a growing one-time encounters, will necessitate narrative
interest in the use of narrative in organizational structures that can adapt to rapidly changing dis-
courses and varied readers (1997: 442).
research (e.g., Lawrence & Maitlis, 2012). Bar-
bara Czarniawska (1998, 1999) has been at the Indeed, narrative provided a lens into ex-
forefront of advocating for a narrative approach plaining changes to organizational structures
in organization studies and social sciences, pro- over time. But narrative research does not fully
moting the idea that scholars can watch and account for these intricacies. With this concep-
collect stories in practice, interpret and analyze tual piece in hand, management and narrative
those narratives, and then put together their scholars have a new tool to explain the com-
own stories in the field of management re- plexities of organizations and their behavior.
search. Narrative is a powerful approach to We believe we have merely scratched the sur-
studying organizations because stories capture face of what will be a multifaceted area of in-
the complexity of organizational life and behav- quiry. Narrative repetition has implications for
ior. Just as organizational narrative has become future research in its use both as a concept and
a useful way of knowing and understanding or- as a methodology.
ganizations, narrative repetition may also be a As a theoretical concept, narrative repetition
valuable approach for management research. may be used as a way to explain stories that
In addition to adding to the work in manage- have different (or multiple) meanings across
ment, narrative repetition can change the prac- time and place. Variables such as the role of the
tice of narrative research. There has been a narrator, context, audience, length, and fre-
great deal of work on what we refer to as direct quency of repetition are noteworthy constructs
storytelling or mimesis in organizations. But to measure in instances of narrative repetition.
there has been scant theoretical development In future work scholars must seek to understand
38 Academy of Management Review January

repeated stories that serve more than one func- Last, narrative repetition has taken form in
tion simultaneously. Taking into account the du- contemporary practice through organizations
alities and overlapping nature of functions, that solicit stories from customers or fans. Life-
scholars should consider which functions work time Fitness, for example, wants to hear mem-
in tandem or “hang together” (to borrow a sta- bers’ weight loss success stories. By sharing per-
tistical term from factor analysis) and then in- sonal stories with Aria Resort & Casino,
vestigate the organizational implications of individuals can win a free trip to Las Vegas.
these dualities. Kraft Singles “Put Your Love on the Map” give-
Organizations are rife with examples of nar- away invites consumers to tell a story about
rative repetition. Here we drew only on pub- grilled cheese sandwiches. Even anti-bullying
lished academic studies that explicitly stated campaigns, such as “I Choose,” ask children to
the recurrence of a story. Additional research recount their stories of being tormented. In var-
should collect new narratives to validate the ious organizations and industries, these stories
functions found here. We expect that these du- help provide fuel for organizational initiatives.
alities of narrative repetition are conceptually Additional research should investigate the im-
applicable to different organizations and addi- plications these retellings have on organiza-
tional data. Future research, however, can tional identity, strategy, or consumer behavior.
strengthen these findings. In all of these contexts, studies could shed
Furthermore, additional research might ex- light on interesting questions this conceptual
plore how stories are repeated in other media. Is piece raises. What factors influence repetition?
the effect of repetition dependent on the medium What types of narrative are repeated? What are
used? What is the influence of technology on the communication patterns for repeated narra-
narrative repetition? Particularly with social tives? How are narratives altered, and why, dur-
media, it is contemporary practice to repeat and ing their repetition? When do stories fail to
circulate narratives. For example, organizations travel and why? The position that stories are
share their own company stories or draw atten- repeated by others multiple times offers a coun-
tion to others’ commentary by sharing links and terposition to Boje’s antenarrative (2011), which
pictures on Facebook. Twitter also enables nar- builds the idea that a story has an uncertain
rative repetition through social media, since or- beginning that the speaker “antes” into consid-
ganizations can quickly “retweet” or repost oth- eration. In contrast, the repeated narrative
ers’ stories. In addition, organizations are builds on an existing story and takes advantage
crafting stories to spread virally throughout so- of that telling, even if for different purposes and
cial media, particularly in the form of videos on with an altered emphasis than the original tell-
YouTube. Scholars should explore the impacts ing. Such evolved tellings, by whom and with
of social media on narrative repetition. what effect, are a central issue in narrative
Other technologies have helped the spread of repetition.
stories, too. Smartphones, with functionalities Finally, in addition to implications for future
such as mass texts, pictures, and email, allow research as a concept, narrative repetition also
individuals to pass around information quickly has implications for implementation as a meth-
and easily. Individuals are increasingly receiv- odology. As a method, narrative repetition may
ing forwarded messages or sharing stories be used as a way to conduct organizational re-
through information technologies, particularly search. In narrative methodology, stories be-
in organizations, where “we don’t want to in- come an object of study, and the researcher fo-
trude on each other [face to face], so instead we cuses on how individuals or groups make sense
constantly intrude on each other [through differ- of events and actions surrounding them. In us-
ent technologies], but not in ‘real time’” (Turkle, ing narrative repetition as a method, scholars
2011: 447). Future work should investigate the may use the recurrence of a story as a starting
extent to which the facility for dissemination point for inquiry. An excellent example of repe-
makes the repetition of narratives more power- tition used as part of the methodology is Whelan
ful. On the other hand, research may explore and colleagues’ effort (2010) to develop the
how the capacity to instantly retell narratives changing nature of a repeated story by tracing a
dilutes the significance placed on individual disgruntled parent and the teacher and princi-
stories. pal in a school system. As the authors trace the
2014 Dailey and Browning 39

story, they show how it changes over retellings, Boje, D. M. 2011. The future of storytelling in organizations:
An antenarrative handbook. London: Routledge.
especially for the teacher as the original point of
conflict in the story. By using narrative repeti- Bormann, E. G. 1972. Fantasy and rhetorical vision: The rhe-
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Stephanie L. Dailey ([email protected]) is a doctoral candidate in organiza-

tional communication in the Department of Communication Studies at the University
2014 Dailey and Browning 43

of Texas at Austin. She studies the processes of organizational identification and

socialization, particularly through the use of technology and narratives in organiza-
tions.

Larry D. Browning ([email protected]) is a professor of organizational

communication in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of
Texas at Austin and adjunct professor of management in the Bodø Graduate School of
Business at the University of Nordland, Norway. He earned his Ph.D. from The Ohio
State University. His research areas include narratology and grounded theory as a
research strategy.