Organizational narratives and self-legitimation in international organizations
Organizational narratives and self-legitimation in international organizations
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国际组织中的组织叙述和自我合法化
DOI：
10.1093/ia/iiac263
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发表时间：
2023
影响因子：
4.5
通讯作者：
Von Billerbeck S
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Von Billerbeck S
越来越多的文献研究了国际组织(IO)如何利用叙事实现自我合法化--合法化不是针对外部受众，而是针对IO工作人员本身。然而，很少有工作研究为什么一些自我合法化的叙事“坚持”，而另一些则逐渐消失或受到反叙事的挑战。我通过关注自我合法化叙事的内容来解决这个问题。首先，我描述了iOS中自我合法化叙事的生命周期，展示了它们如何被合法性受众认可、拒绝或挑战。接下来，我提出了叙事内容的三部分类型：目的、表现和政治。根据对IO工作人员的87次采访，我认为，关注组织价值观和规范的目的叙事更有可能得到认可并成为主导，而那些关注绩效或政治的叙事更有可能被拒绝或挑战。在这种情况下，合法性代理人必须根据观众的需求调整叙事内容。我用来自联合国的两个案例研究来说明这一点。最后，我总结了这些调查结果的政策含义，特别是IO领导人将内部信息与员工的价值观和规范期望保持一致的重要性，否则可能会导致员工士气低落和愤世嫉俗，最终危及组织的有效性。
A growing literature has examined how international organizations (IOs) use narratives for self-legitimation—legitimation aimed not at external audiences but at IO staff themselves. However, little work examines why some self-legitimation narratives ‘stick’ and others fade away or are challenged by counter-narratives. I address this question by focusing on the content of self-legitimation narratives. First, I describe the lifecycle of self-legitimation narratives in IOs, showing how they can be endorsed, rejected or challenged by legitimacy audiences. Next, I posit a three-part typology of narrative content: purpose, performance and politics. Drawing on 87 interviews with IO staff, I argue that narratives of purpose, which focus on organizational values and norms, are more likely to be endorsed and become dominant, while those that focus on performance or politics are more likely to be rejected or challenged. Where this happens, legitimacy agents must adjust narrative content in line with audience demands. I illustrate this with two case-studies from the United Nations. I conclude with the policy implications of these findings, in particular the importance for IO leaders to align internal messaging with the values and normative expectations of staff or risk staff demotivation and cynicism, ultimately imperiling organizational effectiveness.