Assembling a group of researchers having different theoretical backgrounds, academic fields and cultural origins or nationalities is a complex matrix. This paper discusses the conditions and strategies that can make complex research groups work together in a productive way. The authors refer to...

Purpose – Stories draw meaning from narratives. The resulting narrative component in a story is entirely personal or contains fragments of organizational and/or societal narratives. Therefore, understanding how stories obtain these narrative fragments is critical to offering valid...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a metaphor of organizations as discursive gravitational fields. Design/methodology/approach – The metaphor was built based on Einstein's general theory of relativity and Lacan's theory of discourse. The dialogue with organization studies was...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to build a conceptual framework that enables an improved comprehension of how brand meaning is constructed. Design/methodology/approach – Conceptual implications are drawn from an analysis and discussion of the literature in the fields of brand...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to expand understanding about the rhetoric of synergy and how it is manifested in a global corporation, Tubworld (name changed), during a period of mergers and acquisitions. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on an analysis of visual...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel approach to the analysis of individual and co‐constructed change management narratives, utilizing a framework derived from the theory of complex responsive processes. Design/methodology/approach – The research project explored...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that organizational change depends on societal narratives – narratives about the character, history, or envisioned future of societies. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a Swedish municipal waste management company serves as an...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to re‐conceptualize the relations between rhetorical strategies and material practices in the processes whereby leaders create or change organizational cultures. Design/methodology/approach – The authors compare and contrast two broad perspectives on...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that narrative methodology is increasingly caught in an ideological deadlock set in terms of a false choice between meaning (an unconditional respect for the voice of experience) and truth (the scientific validation of stories), which has led to...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce this special issue on the subject of the rhetoric and narratives in management research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews selected contributions to the 4th Conference on Rhetoric and Narratives in Management Research held on...