This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0170840608090533v1 29/7/957    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Cornelissen, J. P. Articles by Kafouros, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Emergent Organization: Primary and Complex Metaphors in Theorizing about Organizations

University of Leeds, UK, jpc{at}lubs.leeds.ac.uk

Mario Kafouros

University of Leeds,UK, m.kafouros{at}leeds.ac.uk

We argue that complex metaphors in organization theory are made up of smaller primary metaphors or metaphorical parts that form the atomic components of the molecular structure of complex metaphorical thought. Using examples from organization theory, we demonstrate that (a) complex metaphors are made up of primary metaphors that are often grounded in our embodied experiences as human beings; and that (b) complex metaphors can be dynamically elaborated, extended and reinterpreted in novel ways. Metaphorical thought thus emerges from primary metaphors and evolves over time which is a perspective that is more alive to changes in the social construction of organizations than the traditional view of stable `root' categories of metaphorical thought that pervade organization theory.

Key Words: metaphor • organization • organization theory • theory building • tropes • language

This version was published on July 1, 2008

Organization Studies, Vol. 29, No. 7, 957-978 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0170840608090533


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?