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Power and resistance in a multinational organization: Discursive struggles over organizational restructuring

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  • Erkama, Niina

Abstract

Summary Restructuring organizations are sites of discursive struggles where different organizational groups drawing on various discourses compete to shape the social reality of the organization for their own benefit. This study focuses on the temporal development of resistance and discursive struggles following a unit shutdown decision and the broader restructuring plan of a global industrial organization. The paper reports how the discourse of globalization and discourse of local capitalism were employed to justify and challenge the restructuring plans. I argue, that although resisting organizational groups are rarely able to reverse restructuring decisions, resistance contributes to the evolution of shared organizational discourse themes, employed discursive resources, identity construction, and the formation of organizational ideology. Through these means, resistance has an important role in developing organizational discourses towards mutual understanding and, at the organizational level, finding ways to confront the discourse of globalization.

Suggested Citation

  • Erkama, Niina, 2010. "Power and resistance in a multinational organization: Discursive struggles over organizational restructuring," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 151-165, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:scaman:v:26:y:2010:i:2:p:151-165
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    Cited by:

    1. Plotnikof, Mie & Pedersen, Anne Reff, 2019. "Exploring resistance in collaborative forms of governance: Meaning negotiations and counter-narratives in a case from the Danish education sector," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(4).
    2. Bell, Emma & Taylor, Scott, 2011. "Beyond letting go and moving on: New perspectives on organizational death, loss and grief," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 1-10, March.
    3. Tukiainen, Sampo, 2015. "Sensemaking of managing cultural differences in a Finnish-Polish project," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 69-83.
    4. Duarte, Henrique & Palermo, Ofelia A. & Arriaga, Patrícia, 2018. "The role of emotions in the control-resistance dyad," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 91-102.
    5. Ozan Nadir Alakavuklar & Fahreen Alamgir, 2018. "Ethics of Resistance in Organisations: A Conceptual Proposal," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 31-43, April.
    6. Amy L. Fraher, 2022. "Disobeying Orders’ as Responsible Leadership: Revisiting Churchill, Percival and the Fall of Singapore," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(2), pages 247-263, January.
    7. Vuontisjärvi, Taru, 2013. "Argumentation and socially questionable business practices: The case of employee downsizing in corporate annual reports," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 292-313.
    8. Jonek Kowalska, Izabela, 2015. "Challenges for long-term industry restructuring in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin: What has Polish coal mining achieved and failed from a twenty-year perspective?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 135-149.

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