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Organization Studies
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Metaphor in Organizational Research: Context, Modalities and Implications for Research — Introduction

Joep P. Cornelissen

Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, UK, J.Cornelissen{at}leeds.ac.uk

Cliff Oswick

Queen Mary, University of London, UK, c.oswick{at}qmul.ac.uk

Lars Thøger Christensen

University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark, ltc{at}sam.sdu.dk

Nelson Phillips

Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London, UK, n.phillips{at}imperial.ac.uk

We provide a general overview of previous work which has explored the use of metaphors in organizational research. Differences in focus and form of research on metaphors are noted. Work in organization theory (OT) and organizational communication (OC) generally features prescriptive metaphors that aid the practice of theorizing and research; research in organizational development (OD) tends to use metaphors for intervention in individual and group decision-making; while studies of organizational behaviour (OB) emphasize the metaphors-in-use within individuals' sensemaking accounts of critical events within their organization. Alongside these differences in focus, the form of metaphor analysis also differs across these contexts, ranging from text- and discourse-based analysis to the analysis of non-linguistic modalities such as pictorial signs, gestures and artefacts. Based on our overview of previous work, we call for greater attention to methodological issues around metaphor identification and analysis and outline a number of directions for further research.

Key Words: metaphor • discourse • organization • change • theory-building • communication • sensemaking

Organization Studies, Vol. 29, No. 1, 7-22 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0170840607086634
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