Telling Organizational Tales: On the Role of Narrative Fiction in the Study of Organizations

In this article, I argue for the benefits of encouraging the use of novels, short stories, plays, songs, poems, and films as legitimate approaches to the study of management and organization. In particular, I argue that these forms of narrative fiction provide a useful addition to our ways of thinking about organ izations and an indispensable approach to strengthening the connection between organizational analysis as an academic discipline and the subjective experience of organizational membership. I begin by arguing that the division between narrative fiction and traditional forms of organizational analysis is overdrawn — that organizational researchers and writers of fiction share important interests and use complementary methods in investigating social phenomena. In the latter portion of the article I suggest some specific applica tions of the techniques and products of narrative fiction including narrative fiction as a teaching tool, as a source of data, as a method for exploring the applicability of theoretical perspectives, and as a resource useful in embel lishing papers and presentations.