Knowledge transferred through organizational stories: a typology

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to look at organizational stories shared among academic librarians who work at the reference desk, and create a typology of the stories based on the knowledge transferred in these. Previous research suggests that stories are the main way in which organizations communicate common values, organizational rules and promote organizational learning. The main question researched here will be: what kind of knowledge is transferred through the stories shared among librarians? This is an important consideration since the meaning carried through the story can shape the employee’s perception of the organization. Design/methodology/approach – This research employed long interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire based on the works of Yiannis Gabriel (2000) as a guide. A total of 20 reference librarians working at four different academic institutions in the southern USA participated in this study. Findings – The analysis of the data reveals a typology of organizational stories shared. The main topics covered by the stories all deal with cultural knowledge exchanges, while also serve as coping mechanisms and present important organizational culture aspects. The stories shared also reflect negative aspects related to the lack of proper communication within the organizations, with the presence of rumors among the narratives shared. Originality/value – These findings can serve as a first step for the development of healthier organizational cultures in libraries and may have implications for training and development, change management, motivation and collective memory.

Library stories: a systematic review of narrative aspects within and around libraries

“…She finds that the value of organizational stories lies in transferring tacit cultural knowledge, which is conveyed through stories that have four main roles: warning systems, finding comfort, preparing others and explaining current work conditions. Colón-Aguirre (2015b) describes the nonparticipant narrative, which is a narrative told by someone present at the events narrated. The results show that stories often convey tacit knowledge, and they are essential for organizations as they can result in innovation.…”

“…As examples of narrative approaches to studying libraries, we would like to draw the reader's attention to Colón-Aguirre (2015a, b, c). The author explores organizational stories in relation to tacit cultural knowledge, untold stories, silenced stories, selectively shared stories and the nonparticipant narrative.…”

“…Cooke (2016) explores the need for alternative narratives to be included in library and information science curricula and finds that more stories of resistance and more emerging stories should be included. Organizational stories offer real contributions to the development of innovation and transfer of knowledge in organizations (Colón-Aguirre, 2015a, b, c). Working with narratives can also potentially help to communicate the library's contributions and telling the library stories (Ford, 2020).…”

Anticipation and Organization: Seeing, knowing and governing futures

“…The reliance on narratives remains a central way to produce knowledge for purposes of anticipatory governance. Organizational actors make sense of past, present and future by way of narration, and shape the future by way of story-telling (Beigi, Callahan, & Michaelson, 2019; Boje, 1991; Boyce, 1996; Colón-Aguirre, 2015; Gabriel, 2000). Examples include the focus on how narratives and ‘prospective sensemaking’ 2 shape innovation and technology implementation (Jacobs, Steyaert, & Ueberbacher, 2013; Krogh, 2018) and the role and dynamics of storylines and future scenarios in environmental governance (Garb, Pulver, & Vandeveer, 2008).…”

Narrative practices in debt collection encounters

“…Organisational research has used narrative phenomena to explore a breadth of organisational phenomena, including culture (Mills et al, 2001), stability and change (Vaara et al, 2016), identity (Humphreys & Brown, 2002), and knowledge transfer (Colon-Aguirre, 2015). Sociolinguistic research on organisational and workplace narratives has explored narrative's role in, for instance, workplace or team culture (Marra & Holmes, 2004), and constructing professional identities Narrative practices in debt collection encounters…”