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Living with paradox through irony

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  • Gylfe, Philip
  • Franck, Henrika
  • Vaara, Eero

Abstract

In organizations, people have to deal with and manage a variety of paradoxes, and this may involve using discursive means such as irony. However, we still know little about the association between irony and paradox in concrete organizational interaction. Our analysis builds on an ethnographic study of journalists and producers at YLE, the Finnish public service broadcaster. On the basis of our analysis, we argue that contradictions are co-constructed with three different forms of irony: inversive, subversive, and dramatic. This leads us to develop a more general model that helps explain how irony may be used and may move discussions from one phase to another. Especially, we show how irony puts contradictions into context through management strategies called ‘connecting.’ Through ‘connecting’ management strategies organizational members give voice to, energize and embrace poles that are in opposition in contradictions. By so doing, our analysis supplies a missing piece to our understanding of how organizational members deal with paradox and adds to research on irony in organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Gylfe, Philip & Franck, Henrika & Vaara, Eero, 2019. "Living with paradox through irony," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 68-82.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:155:y:2019:i:c:p:68-82
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.03.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Janssens, Maddy & Steyaert, Chris, 1999. "The world in two and a third way out? The concept of duality in organization theory and practice," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 121-139, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jeon, Euiju & Maula, Markku, 2022. "Progress toward understanding tensions in corporate venture capital: A systematic review," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    2. Stefan, Ioana & Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, Pia & Vanhaverbeke, Wim & Oikarinen, Eeva-Liisa, 2022. "The dark side of open innovation: Individual affective responses as hidden tolls of the paradox of openness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 360-373.
    3. Waldman, David A. & Putnam, Linda L. & Miron-Spektor, Ella & Siegel, Donald, 2019. "The role of paradox theory in decision making and management research," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 1-6.
    4. Winston Kwon & Ian Clarke & Eero Vaara & Rowan Mackay & Ruth Wodak, 2020. "Using Verbal Irony to Move on with Controversial Issues," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(4), pages 865-886, July.
    5. Thierry Devaux, 2022. "Le paradoxe « Manager/Travailleur »," Post-Print hal-03713926, HAL.

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