Multimodality, meaning, and institutions / edited by Markus A. Höllerer, Thibault Daudigeos, Dennis Jancsary.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Daudigeos, Thibault, editor.

Jancsary, Dennis, editor.

Series:

Research in the sociology of organizations ; Volume 54.

Research in the sociology of organizations, 0733-558X ; volume 54B

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communication in organizations.

Industrialization.

Organizational change.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (244 pages).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bingley, England : Emerald Publishing Limited, 2018.

Summary:

The insight that institutions, and the communicative practices that create, sustain, and challenge them, are multimodal accomplishments has garnered increasing attention from scholars in organization and management research over the last decade. Traditional understanding of social knowledge and meaning as being constituted primarily through verbal discourse has been challenged and extended by work that has promoted the centrality of visual, material, and other sign systems (e.g., audio, gestures, layout) for constructing social reality. While some discursive approaches to organizations and institutions have acknowledged the existence and relevance of modes other than the verbal for some time, systematic research on multimodality has remained rather sparse. In particular, the interaction and orchestration of multiple modes remains terra incognita with considerable empirical, methodological, and theoretical stakes. Together, 54A and 54B of Research in the Sociology of Organizations investigate these issues with innovative research that focuses on the relationship between different modes in the emergence, diffusion, maintenance, and challenge of social meanings and institutions. Individual contributions demonstrate the potential of multimodal approaches to rejuvenate and extend the study of institutions, they revisit research on classic phenomena in organization theory through a multimodal lens, and advance the design of relevant and rigorous methods of analysis for the study of multimodal communicative practices.

Contents:

Intro

Multimodality, Meaning, and Institutions

Contents

Notes on the editors

List of Contributors

Section 4: Multimodal Perspectives On Institutional Persistence and Change

Multimodal Constructionof a Rational Myth:Industrialization of theFrench Building Sector inthe Period from 1945 to 1970

Rational Myths as Means-Ends Relations

Visual Communication and Multimodality

Methods

Empirical Phenomenon

Data Source

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Findings

Step 1: Experimental Associations Between Many Means and Ends (1945-1950)

Step 2: Coupling of Selected Means to Formal Ends (Throughout the 1950s)

Step 3: Further Coupling of Means to Substantive Ends (Predominant in the 1960s)

Disaggregating Findings to Validate the Three-Step Model

Discussion

Processes of Socially Constructing Rational Myths

Visual and Verbal Commmunication in the Construction of Rational Myths

Limitations and Avenues for Future Research

Conclusion

References

CRU, GLUE, and Status:How Wine Labels HelpedEnnoble Bordeaux

Introduction

Theoretical Background

Context, Data, and Methods

A Stable Expansion of the Chateau Tradition

A World Invented

The Merchant Profession as a Community Organization

Maintenance Activities and Multimodality

Community Organizations

Boundary Conditions

Limitations

Concluding Remarks

Where History, Visuality,and Identity Meet:Institutional Paths toVisual Diversity AmongOrganizations

On Historicity and Imprinting

Pathways to Field-Level Variety

Research Method

Field-Level Distribution

Case Illustrations

Imprinting: The case of Aalto University

Imprinting-cum-inertia - Resistance to change: The case of the Technion.

Imprinting-cum-inertia - Conservative rebranding: The case of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Rebranding: The case of the University of the Free State

Historization - "Back to our roots": The case of the University of Mannheim

Historization - "Invention of tradition": The case of the University of Nairobi

Multiplicity - through combination: The case of the Tanta University's assemblage identity icon

Multiplicity - through differentiation: The case of Stanford University's multiple identity icons

Summary: Organizational responses to branding dynamics

Concluding Discussion: Visual Traces of Organizational Responses to Field-Level Dynamics

Dirty Oil or EthicalOil? Visual Rhetoric inLegitimation Struggles

Legitimation Dynamics

Leveraging Social Semiotics and Visual Rhetoric to Analyze Legitimacy Work

Methodology

Analytical Methods

Evolving Labels, Meaning, and Value

BP: Low-Carbon Diet

Greenpeace: Black is the New Green

Ethical Oil Institute: Dirty Oil, Ethical Oil

Tanker Free BC: Immoral Energy and Ethical Energy

The Evolution of Meaning and Value

Conceptual Discussion

Methodological Innovations to Analyze Emotion and the Visual

Persuasion Through Evaluative and Emotional Resonance

Fluid and Provisional Interaction Between Legitimation and De-Legitimation

Conclusions

Extensions and Limitations

Section 5: The Multimodal Construction of Identities

Companies on the Runway: Fashion Companies' Multimodal Presentation of their Organizational Identity in Job Advertisements

Organizational Identity Claims

Organizational Identity Claims in Multimodal Communication

Fashion Industry as a Research Setting

Job Ads as a Genre

Results.

You Know Our Name - Job Ads Focusing on Company Reputation

Dedicated Follower of Fashion - Job Ads Focusing on Product Brand

Let's Get the Job Done - Job Ads Focusing on (Future) Employees

Multimodal Composition and Messages

How Multimodal Compositions Convey Different Organizational Identity Claims

How Multimodal Identity Claims Aim to Influence Attraction to, the Perception of the Legitimacy of, and Identification with Organizational Images

How Multimodal Identity Claims Reflect Changing Values over Time

Message in a Bottle: Multiple Modes and Multiple Media in Market Identity Claims

Introduction: Multiple Modes and Media in Identity Claims

Identity Claims and Multimodality

Multimodal and Multimedial Interactions in Identity Claims

An Illustration Involving Single-Malt Scotch Whisky Distilleries

Identity Claims on Material Media: Bottles and Associated Packaging

Shifting Media from Material to Digital: Identity Claims on Social Media

Multimodal and Multimedia Interactions in Identity Claims

Discussion and Conclusion

The Architecture of City Identities: A Multimodal Study of Barcelona and Boston

City Identity Through Architecture: Material, Visual, and Rhetorical Expressions of Institutional Actors

City Identity as a Material Sign System: Topography, Landmarks, and Iconic Buildings

City Identity as a Visual Sign System: Architectural Styles and Visual Continuity

City Identity as a Rhetorical Sign System: Critics and Texts

Methods and Data

City Identity as Materially Constructed by City Designers and Planners

City Identity as Visually Constructed by Architects

City Identity as Rhetorically Constructed by Critics

Findings: The Sign Systems of Barcelona and Boston

Material Sign Systems

Visual Sign Systems.

Rhetorical Sign Systems

Conclusion: Toward a Multimodal and Temporal Approach to City Identity

Multimodality in Organization Studies: Afterword

Index.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references.

Print version record

ISBN:

9781787434516

1787434516

9781787433311

1787433315