The Narrated Organization: Implications of a Narrative Corporate Identity Vocabulary for Strategic Self-Storying

Narrative is assigned a central role in conceptualising and constructing both individual and collective identity. The purpose of this article is to articulate a narrative vocabulary of corporate identity in order to address its implications for analyzing and storying identity. The central argument is that a narrative corporate identity vocabulary questions the usefulness of integrated communication and consequently introduces polyphonic assumptions regarding strategic organizational self-storying. Following a brief overview of existing corporate identity vocabularies articulated within mainstream research, a narrative vocabulary is constructed with reference to select contributions from organizational studies research. Third, an illustration of what corporate identity is when articulated from within a narrative point of view is offered with reference to the storying of the Danish-Swedish dairy cooperative Arla Foods during the controversy surrounding the 2006 Mohammed cartoon incident. Attention is given to the narrative construction and negotiation of the organization's identity with Danish consumers on its weblogs. In conclusion, focus is placed on the potential consequences a narrative vocabulary has for strategic self-storying. The consequences include ambiguous, collaborative and emergent storytelling practices.