Talking Action: Conversations, Narrative and Action in Interorganizational Collaboration

In this paper, we examine the link between talk and action in interorganizational collaboration. We integrate research on the micro-dynamics of conversations with narrative theory to focus on both conversational activity – the who, where, and when of conversations – and the narratives and stories produced – the what of conversations. We argue that the activity and content of conversations discursively produce identities, skills and emotions which, in turn, enable and constrain action. We then apply this model to a case study of interorganizational collaboration.