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Narrative, Politics and Legitimacy in an IT Implementation
Author(s) -
Brown Andrew D.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of management studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.398
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1467-6486
pISSN - 0022-2380
DOI - 10.1111/1467-6486.00083
Subject(s) - narrative , polysemy , legitimacy , reflexivity , ascription , sociology , meaning (existential) , politics , ethnography , epistemology , interpretation (philosophy) , narrative inquiry , legitimation , linguistics , political science , social science , law , anthropology , philosophy
This paper offers an interpretation of an information technology (IT) implementation through an analysis of group narratives. A focus on narrative is valuable because it facilitates recognition of the extent to which interpretive research involves the creation and ascription of meaning in ways that require authorial reflexivity. An analysis based on group narratives, which incorporate plurivocal understandings of actions and events, is also a means by which polysemy can more easily be read back into ethnography. The research contribution this paper makes is twofold. First, it exemplifies the importance of narratives for individuals and groups in their attempts to understand and give meaning to their technologies and working lives. Second, it illustrates how narratives can be deployed in political attempts to legitimate their actions and interests.