2018
DOI: 10.1177/0149206318777599
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“How to Do Things With Words”: Mechanisms Bridging Language and Action in Management Research

Abstract: We review the past quarter century of literature linking language and action in management research published from 1993 through 2017. Different from recent in-depth reviews that focus narrowly on particular forms that words take, we look across these different kinds of word assemblages to uncover broad themes and mechanisms that link words with action outcomes in organizational settings. Classifying common conceptual approaches and prominent outcomes, we systematize and synthesize existing work on how to do th… Show more

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Cited by 46 publications
(39 citation statements)
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References 161 publications
(280 reference statements)
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“…In particular, we show that the effect of self-categorization is not merely the building of a consensus with institutional authorities to protect the subsidiary's business; it is also the creation of meaning to support institutional changes consistently with the firm's strategic evolutions. Previous research has highlighted how words, and more broadly rhetorical framing, are used to create resonance with an audience and facilitate organizational action, or to directly influence practices in a process of enactment (Giorgi, 2017;Lockwood, Giorgi, & Glynn, 2019). Our findings show that through selfcategorization processes, MNE subsidiaries are able to deliver both resonance and enactment.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 66%
“…In particular, we show that the effect of self-categorization is not merely the building of a consensus with institutional authorities to protect the subsidiary's business; it is also the creation of meaning to support institutional changes consistently with the firm's strategic evolutions. Previous research has highlighted how words, and more broadly rhetorical framing, are used to create resonance with an audience and facilitate organizational action, or to directly influence practices in a process of enactment (Giorgi, 2017;Lockwood, Giorgi, & Glynn, 2019). Our findings show that through selfcategorization processes, MNE subsidiaries are able to deliver both resonance and enactment.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 66%
“…In summary, in the effort to manage the entire system and achieve integration, word choice can be a powerful tool for creating action, consensus and collaboration (Lockwood et al , 2019). In contrast, concepts that describe relationships can objectify the relationship and visualize the power relationship and as a result, possibly influence the collaboration (McLaughlin, 2009).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Classic and more recent research has investigated the role of vocabularies in the social construction of organizational structure (e.g., Berger andLuckmann 1966 andOberg et al 2017). By "expressing communal values, evoking past experiences, providing seed beds for human action," vocabularies represent "a vehicle for achieving practical effects" (Pettigrew 1979, p. 575) that may affect patterns of organizational action and interaction (Lockwood et al 2019). Sharing vocabularies within and across social settings helps coordination between interacting individuals (Bechky 2003).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%