From zero to villain: Applying narrative analysis in research on organizational reputation

Kuenzler, Johanna

doi:10.1002/epa2.1123

Cited by 15 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Accordingly, the decisions of organizations providing public services have to be justified on their own. While there are attempts to address this normative question, for example, in literature on administrative reputation (Bustos, 2021; Carpenter & Krause, 2012; Kuenzler, 2021) and public values (Bryson et al, 2014; Rhodes & Wanna, 2007; Stoker, 2006), it has not yet been resolved in this context, let alone applied to hybrid organizations. As the strategic management of legitimacy in hybrids raises doubts about their democratic quality, it may be interesting, for instance, to further discuss whether creating an independent legal form for hybrid organizations could be useful (Karré, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Iterative Process of Legitimacy-Building in Hybrid Organizations

Rosser¹,

Ilgenstein

Sager

2021

Administration & Society

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Hybrid organizations face the fundamental challenge of building legitimacy. To deal with this challenge in administrative theory and practice, we apply an analytical framework following an organizational logic of legitimacy building to an exemplary case of hybridity—the Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine. Our framework application illustrates that pragmatic legitimacy (i.e., establishing instrumental value) must be built before moral legitimacy (i.e., fostering normative evaluation) and cognitive legitimacy (i.e., creating comprehensibility), followed by an iterative process of mutual influence between the legitimacy forms. Originating in the management literature, the framework promises new insights for public administration research on hybrids.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Iterative Process of Legitimacy-Building in Hybrid Organizations

Rosser¹,

Ilgenstein

Sager

2021

Administration & Society

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“…As we want to explore a theoretical distinction that should be relevant for the NPF as a whole, the first investigation in a "familiar territory" with subsequent expansions into new areas permits the stepwise enhancement of complexity. Furthermore, the case definition differs from previous studies, with the empirical material featuring no (in the case of Hildbrand et al, 2020) or only partially overlaps with existing research (in the case of Kuenzler, 2021, Stauffer, 2022a, 2022b). We elaborate on potential limits of generalizability and avenues for future expansions in Discussion and Conclusion sections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy dimension: A new concept to distinguish substance from process in the Narrative Policy Framework

Kuenzler

Stauffer

2022

Policy Studies Journal

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This article introduces the distinction between substance (questions of policy design) and process (questions of power in the policy process) to the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF). While both occur in existing NPF research, so far, they are not separated analytically. We conceptualize them as categories of the “policy dimension,” a new aspect of narrative content. Applying this dimension to an exploratory case, we show that such an analysis leads to useful insights for NPF scholars. Substance policy narrative elements show a debate about a policy's implementation model, whereas process policy narrative elements reveal that this debate is permeated by power conflicts. Furthermore, we find that the two categories' occurrence in narratives is influenced by the debate venue, whereas political parties as narrators do not seem to be relevant. The policy dimension allows for new research avenues and provides practitioners with a new tool to understand and intervene in policy debates.

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“…To capture the characteristics of reputational communication in the public realm, we analyze narratives (Kuenzler 2021;Schlaufer et al 2022). Narratives are stories we tell each other in our everyday lives.…”

Section: Public Reputation Management and Policy Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While there were times of relative "quiet" in the eight months after the double infanticide, the debate sparked time and again with renewed vehemence. The characteristics of this debate have been broadly illustrated (Kuenzler 2021;Kuenzler & Stauffer 2022). Suffice it to say here that a great majority of narratives feature the CAPA as a villain, indicating the severity of the reputational crisis for the CAPA.…”

Section: The Capa's Communication After the Double Infanticide In Flaachmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Manage Organizational Reputation when Under Attack: Learnings from the Child and Adult Protection Authorities

Kuenzler¹,

Stauffer²,

Sager

2022

Yearbook of Swiss Administrative Sciences

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What does the reputation management of a public authority look like under extreme conditions? The present article studies the Swiss Child and Adult Protection Authorities (CAPA), which experienced a major reputational crisis after a mother killed her two children in 2015 and accused the CAPA of bearing responsibility. We use the CAPA as one of the most contested public organizations in Switzerland to study reputation management when a public authority is under severe attack and draw learnings for public organizations in similar situations in the future. Applying the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) in a content analysis to newspaper articles from the Germanspeaking part of Switzerland, we examine narratives uttered by CAPA representatives. Furthermore, by comparing the CAPA's communication with a similar case in the Romandie, we draw general lessons for public organizations that want to improve their reputation management and crisis communication. The results show how in German-speaking Switzerland, negative media reports increased sharply and caused lasting damage to the CAPA's reputation. By contrast, the scandal in French-speaking Switzerland did not lead to a full-blown crisis. Our findings underscore the need for public organizations to speak up when under attack, to build up the respective communication skills and resources and to employ positive narratives with shiny hero characters rather than negative narratives emphasizing villains. ABSTRAKTWie sieht das Reputationsmanagement einer Behörde unter Extrembedingungen aus? Der vorliegende Artikel untersucht die schweizerischen Kindes-und Erwachsenenschutzbehörden (KESB), die eine schwere Reputationskrise erlebten, nachdem eine Mutter im Jahr 2015 ihre beiden Kinder getötet und die KESB beschuldigt hatte, dafür verantwortlich zu sein. Wir verwenden die KESB als eine der am stärksten umstrittenen öffentlichen Organisationen in der Schweiz, um zu untersuchen, wie Reputationsmanagement aussieht, wenn eine öffentliche Behörde massiv angegriffen wird, und um Lehren für öffentliche Organisationen in der Zukunft zu ziehen, wenn sie sich in ähnlichen Situationen wiederfinden. Wir untersuchen Narrative von KESB-*Author affiliations can be found in the back matter of this article 52 Kuenzler et al.

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From zero to villain: Applying narrative analysis in research on organizational reputation

Cited by 15 publications

References 49 publications

The Iterative Process of Legitimacy-Building in Hybrid Organizations

The Iterative Process of Legitimacy-Building in Hybrid Organizations

Policy dimension: A new concept to distinguish substance from process in the Narrative Policy Framework

How to Manage Organizational Reputation when Under Attack: Learnings from the Child and Adult Protection Authorities

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