IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v22y2011i2p370-390.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the Narrative Construction of Multinational Corporations: An Antenarrative Analysis of Legitimation and Resistance in a Cross-Border Merger

Author

Listed:
  • Eero Vaara

    (Hanken School of Economics, FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland; and Strategy and Organization Department, EMLYON Business School, 69132 Ecully, France)

  • Janne Tienari

    (Aalto University School of Economics, 00076 Aalto, Finland)

Abstract

Although extant research has highlighted the role of discourse in the cultural construction of organizations, there is a need to elucidate the use of narratives as central discursive resources in unfolding organizational change. Hence, the objective of this article is to develop a new kind of antenarrative approach for the cultural analysis of organizational change. We use merging multinational corporations (MNCs) as a case in point. Our empirical analysis focuses on a revelatory case: the financial services group Nordea, which was built by combining Swedish, Finnish, Danish, and Norwegian corporations. We distinguish three types of antenarrative that provided alternatives for making sense of the merger: globalist, nationalist, and regionalist (Nordic) antenarratives. We focus on how these antenarratives were mobilized in intentional organizational storytelling to legitimate or resist change: globalist storytelling as a means to legitimate the merger and to create MNC identity, nationalist storytelling to relegitimate national identities and interests, Nordic storytelling to create regional identity, and the critical use of the globalist storytelling to challenge the Nordic identity. We conclude that organizational storytelling is characterized by polyphonic, stylistic, chronotopic, and architectonic dialogisms and by a dynamic between centering and decentering forces. This paper contributes to discourse-cultural studies of organizations by explaining how narrative constructions of identities and interests are used to legitimate or resist change. Furthermore, this analysis elucidates the dialogical dynamics of organizational storytelling and thereby opens up new avenues for the cultural analysis of organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Eero Vaara & Janne Tienari, 2011. "On the Narrative Construction of Multinational Corporations: An Antenarrative Analysis of Legitimation and Resistance in a Cross-Border Merger," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(2), pages 370-390, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:22:y:2011:i:2:p:370-390
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1100.0593
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1100.0593
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1100.0593?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stanley Deetz, 1996. "Crossroads---Describing Differences in Approaches to Organization Science: Rethinking Burrell and Morgan and Their Legacy," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(2), pages 191-207, April.
    2. Alan M. Rugman & Alain Verbeke, 2005. "A Perspective on Regional and Global Strategies of Multinational Enterprises," Chapters, in: Analysis of Multinational Strategic Management, chapter 8, pages 104-119, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Rikard Larsson & Sydney Finkelstein, 1999. "Integrating Strategic, Organizational, and Human Resource Perspectives on Mergers and Acquisitions: A Case Survey of Synergy Realization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(1), pages 1-26, February.
    4. Kwok Leung & Rabi S Bhagat & Nancy R Buchan & Miriam Erez & Cristina B Gibson, 2005. "Culture and international business: recent advances and their implications for future research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(4), pages 357-378, July.
    5. Philippe Monin & Eero Vaara, 2010. "A Recursive Perspective on Discursive Legitimation and Organizational Action in Mergers and Acquisitions," Post-Print hal-02312439, HAL.
    6. Michael Lubatkin & Roland Calori & Philippe Very & John F. Veiga, 1998. "Managing Mergers Across Borders: A Two-Nation Exploration of a Nationally Bound Administrative Heritage," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(6), pages 670-684, December.
    7. Steve Maguire & Nelson Phillips, 2008. "‘Citibankers’ at Citigroup: A Study of the Loss of Institutional Trust after a Merger," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 372-401, March.
    8. Cooper, David J. & Greenwood, Royston & Hinings, Bob & Brown, John L., 1998. "Globalization and nationalism in a multinational accounting firm: The case of opening new markets in Eastern Europe," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 531-548.
    9. Eero Vaara & Janne Tienari & Ingmar Björkman, 2003. "Global capitalism meets national spirit : Discourses in media texts on a cross-border acquisition," Post-Print hal-02311661, HAL.
    10. Robyn Thomas & Leisa D. Sargent & Cynthia Hardy, 2011. "Managing Organizational Change: Negotiating Meaning and Power-Resistance Relations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 22-41, February.
    11. Eero Vaara & Philippe Monin, 2010. "A Recursive Perspective on Discursive Legitimation and Organizational Action in Mergers and Acquisitions," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 3-22, February.
    12. Royston Greenwood & C. R. Hinings & John Brown, 1994. "Merging Professional Service Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(2), pages 239-257, May.
    13. Günter K. Stahl & Andreas Voigt, 2008. "Do Cultural Differences Matter in Mergers and Acquisitions? A Tentative Model and Examination," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(1), pages 160-176, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Satu Teerikangas & Olivier Irrmann, 2016. "Cultural Change Following International Acquisitions: Cohabiting the Tension Between Espoused and Practiced Cultures," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 195-226, April.
    2. Philippe Monin & Niels Noorderhaven & Eero Vaara & David Kroon, 2013. "Giving Sense to and Making Sense of Justice in Postmerger Integration," Post-Print hal-02276708, HAL.
    3. Smeulders, Dieter & Dekker, Henri C. & Van den Abbeele, Alexandra, 2023. "Post-acquisition integration: Managing cultural differences and employee resistance using integration controls," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    4. Teerikangas, Satu & Colman, Helene Loe, 2020. "Theorizing in the qualitative study of mergers & acquisitions," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    5. Tukiainen, Sampo, 2015. "Sensemaking of managing cultural differences in a Finnish-Polish project," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 69-83.
    6. Choi, Soki & Holmberg, Ingalill & Löwstedt, Jan & Brommels, Mats, 2011. "Executive management in radical change--The case of the Karolinska University Hospital merger," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 11-23, March.
    7. Eero Vaara & Philippe Monin, 2010. "A Recursive Perspective on Discursive Legitimation and Organizational Action in Mergers and Acquisitions," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 3-22, February.
    8. Popli, Manish & Akbar, Mohammad & Kumar, Vikas & Gaur, Ajai, 2016. "Reconceptualizing cultural distance: The role of cultural experience reserve in cross-border acquisitions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 404-412.
    9. Israel Drori & Amy Wrzesniewski & Shmuel Ellis, 2013. "One Out of Many? Boundary Negotiation and Identity Formation in Postmerger Integration," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(6), pages 1717-1741, December.
    10. Diana W.P. Kwok, 2018. "Boundary spanning and subordinate—leader trust: A tale of two acquisitions in a multicultural emerging economy," Post-Print hal-01744451, HAL.
    11. Colman, Helene Loe, 2020. "Facilitating integration and maintaining autonomy: The role of managerial action and interaction in post-acquisition cabability transfer," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 148-160.
    12. Maurizio Floris & David Grant & Leanne Cutcher, 2013. "Mining the Discourse: Strategizing During BHP Billiton's Attempted Acquisition of Rio Tinto," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(7), pages 1185-1215, November.
    13. Zhi Huang & Hong (Susan) Zhu & Daniel J. Brass, 2017. "Cross-border acquisitions and the asymmetric effect of power distance value difference on long-term post-acquisition performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 972-991, April.
    14. repec:dau:papers:123456789/15150 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Gebert Persson, Sabine & Lundberg, Heléne & Elbe, Jörgen, 2014. "On the discursive contest of an international M&A relationship development process within financial services," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1064-1073.
    16. Jørgensen, Lene & Jordan, Silvia & Mitterhofer, Hermann, 2012. "Sensemaking and discourse analyses in inter-organizational research: A review and suggested advances," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 107-120.
    17. Puhakka, Hannu, 2017. "The role of accounting in making sense of post-acquisition integration," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 12-22.
    18. Feiqiong Chen & Yao Chen & Fangfang Zhong, 2017. "Integration decision-making in technology-sourcing cross-border M&As: a mathematical model," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 524-545, December.
    19. Zheng, Qiuxia & Noorderhaven, Niels & Du, Jian, 2022. "Making the unlikely marriage work: The integration process of Chinese strategic asset-seeking acquisitions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(3).
    20. Teerikangas, Satu & Thanos, Ioannis C., 2018. "Looking into the ‘black box’ – unlocking the effect of integration on acquisition performance," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 366-380.
    21. David P. Kroon & Niels G. Noorderhaven & Kevin G. Corley & Eero Vaara, 2022. "Hard and Soft Integration: Towards a Dynamic Model of Post‐Acquisition Integration," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(5), pages 1132-1161, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:22:y:2011:i:2:p:370-390. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.