This study is based on the thesis that Vladimir Propp's (1928/2001) theory of folktale structure functions not only as a morphology of folktales, but also as a structural, deep-level model of any process that includes crisis and recovery. We essentially suggest that corporate decline and turnaround processes can be emplotted into a folktale-like structure that supports Propp's theory and thereby helps uncover deep-level mechanisms governing the process. The developed model describes seven mechanisms that drive the organization from initial strategic harmony to disharmony, and furthermore to the construction of a new strategic harmony, thus creating a perspective for the interpretation of long-term organizational decline and turnaround processes. Theoretical and practical implications are offered.
Ahvenainen, J. Enso-Gutzeit Oy 1872–1992, 2: 1924–1992. Jyväskylä, Finland: Gummerus, 1992.
2.
Amburgey, T.L. , Kelly, D. & Barnett, W.P.Resetting the clock: The dynamics of organizational change . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1993, 38, 51–64 .
3.
Armenakis, A. , Fredenberger, W. , Cherones, L. & Field, H.Symbolic actions used by business turnaround change agents . Academy of Management Journal Best Papers Proceedings, 1995, 229–235 .
4.
Arogyaswamy, K. , Barker, V.L. & Yasai-Ardekani, M.Firm turnarounds: An integrative two-stage model . Journal of Management Studies, 1995, 32, 493–525 .
5.
Audia, P.G. , Locke, E.A. & Smith, K.G.The paradox of success: An archival and a laboratory study of strategic persistence following radical environmental change . Academy of Management Journal, 2000, 43, 837–853 .
6.
Balgobin, R. & Pandit, N.Stages in the turnaround process: The case of IBM UK . European Management Journal, 2001, 19, 301–316 .
7.
Barker, V.L. & Duhaime, I.M.Strategic change in the turnaround process: Theory and empirical evidence . Strategic Management Journal, 1997, 18, 13–38 .
8.
Barker, V.L. & Mone, M.A.Retrenchment: Cause of turnaround or consequence of decline?Strategic Management Journal, 1994, 17, 99–120 .
9.
Barker, V.L. & Mone, M.A.The mechanistic structure shift and strategic reorientation in declining firms attempting turnarounds . Human Relations, 1998, 51, 1227–1258 .
10.
Barker, V.L. , Patterson, P.E. & Mueller, G.C.Organizational causes and strategic consequences of the extent of top management team replacement during turnaround attempts . Journal of Management Studies, 2001, 38, 235–269 .
11.
Barnett, W.P. , Greve, H.R. & Park, D.Y.An evolutionary model of organizational performance . Strategic Management Journal, 1994, 15, 11–29 .
12.
Bettelheim, B.The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of fairy tales. London: Thames and Hudson , 1976.
13.
Bibeault, D.B.Corporate turnaround: How managers turn losers into winners. New York: McGraw-Hill , 1982.
14.
Boje, D.M.The storytelling organization: A study of story performance in an office-supply firm . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1991, 36, 106–126 .
15.
Boje, D.M.Narrative methods for organizational and communicational research. London: Sage , 2001.
16.
Burgelman, R.Fading memories: A process theory of strategic business exit in dynamic environments . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1994, 39, 24–56 .
17.
Cahill, D.Organizational decline and innovation: Are entrepreneurs a special case?Academy of Management Review, 1998, 23, 387–389 .
18.
Cameron, K.S. , Kim, M.U. & Whetten, D.A.Organizational effects of decline and turbulence . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1987, 32, 222–240 .
19.
Cameron, K.S. , Sutton, R.I. & Whetten, D.A.Issues in organizational decline. In K.S. Cameron , R.I. Sutton & D.A. Whetten (Eds), Readings in organizational decline: Frameworks, research and prescriptions. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger , 1988.
20.
Chandler, A.D.Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of the industrial enterprise. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press , 1962.
21.
Collingwood, R.G.The idea of history. New York: Oxford University Press , 1956.
22.
Czarniawska, B.Writing management: Organization theory as a literary genre. Oxford: Oxford University Press , 1999.
23.
Czarniawska, B.The uses of narrative in organization research. GRI Report 2000: 5. G^teborg: GRI , 2000.
24.
Daily, C.M. & Dalton, D.R.Bankruptcy and corporate governance: The impact of board composition and structure . Academy of Management Journal, 1994, 37, 1603–1617 .
25.
Daily, C.M. & Dalton, D.R.The role of governance in corporate decline: A review and research agenda . Advances in Applied Business Strategy, 1998, 5, 239–260 .
26.
D'Aveni, R.A.The aftermath of organizational decline: A longitudinal study of the strategic and managerial characteristics of declining firms . Academy of Management Journal, 1989, 32, 577–605 .
27.
D'Aveni, R.A. & MacMillan, I.C.Crises and the content of managerial communications: A study of the focus of attention of top managers in surviving and failing firms . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1990, 35, 634–657 .
28.
Denzin, N.K.Sociological methods. New York: McGraw Hill , 1978.
29.
Diamond, M. & Alcorn, S.The cornerstone of psychoanalytic organizational analysis: Psychological reality, transference and counter-transference in the workplace . Human Relations, 2003, 56, 491–514 .
30.
DiMaggio, P. & Powell, W.W.The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields . American Sociological Review, 1983, 48, 147–160 .
31.
Dundes, A.Binary opposition in myth: The Propp/Levi-Strauss debate in retrospect . Western Folklore, 1997, 56, 39–50 .
32.
Fiol, M.C.A semiotic analysis of corporate language: Organizational boundaries and joint venturing . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1989, 34, 277–303 .
33.
Gabriel, Y.Turning facts into stories and stories into facts: A hermeneutic exploration of organizational folklore . Human Relations, 1991a, 44, 857–875 .
34.
Gabriel, Y.Organizations and their discontents: A psychoanalytic contribution to the study of organizational culture . Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1991b, 27, 318–336 .
35.
Gahmberg, H.Underlying values and intuition in strategic decisions . International Studies of Management and Organization, 1983, 13, 132–143 .
36.
Ginzburg, C.Clues, myths, and the historical method. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press , 1989.
37.
Godfrey, P.C. & Hill, C.W.L.The problem of unobservables in strategic management research . Strategic Management Journal, 1995, 16, 519–533 .
38.
Goodstein, J. & Boeker, W.Turbulence at the top – A new perspective on governance structure changes and strategic change . Academy of Management Journal, 1991, 34, 306–330 .
Hambrick, D.C. & Schecter, S.M.Turnaround strategies for mature industrial-product business units . Academy of Management Journal, 1983, 26, 231–248 .
43.
Hannan, M. & Freeman, J.Structural inertia and organizational change . American Sociological Review, 1984, 49, 149–164 .
44.
Harfield, T. & Hamilton, R.T.Journeys in declining industry: Stories of footwear manufacturing . Journal of Organizational Change Management, 1997, 10, 61–70 .
45.
Hedberg, B.L.T. , Bystrom, P.C. & Starbuck, W.H.Camping on seesaws: Prescriptions for a self-designing organization . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1976, 21, 41–65 .
46.
Hirsch, P.M.From ambushes to golden parachutes: Corporate takeovers as an instance of cultural framing and institutional integration . American Journal of Sociology, 1986, 91, 800-837 .
47.
Hofer, C.W.Turnaround strategies . Journal of Business Strategy, 1980, 1, 19–31 .
48.
Hoffman, R.C.Strategies for corporate turnarounds: What do we know about them?Journal of General Management, 1989, 14, 46–66 .
49.
Krohn, K.Folklore methodology formulated by Julius Krohn and expanded by Nordic researchers . Publications of the American Folklore Society: Bibliographical and special series 21. Austin, TX: American Folklore Society, 1971.
50.
Kylmälä, T.Kutsetin mies. Helsinki, Finland: Kirjayhtymä , 1986.
51.
Lilja, K. , Räsänen, K. & Tainio, R.A dominant business recipe: The forest sector in Finland. In R. Whitley (Ed.), European business systems: Firms and markets in their national contexts. London: Sage , 1992, pp. 137–154.
52.
McKiernan, P.Turnarounds. In D. Faulkner & A. Campbell (Eds), Oxford handbook of strategy: Volume II – Corporate strategy. Oxford: Oxford University Press , 2003, pp. 267–314.
53.
McKinley, W.Complexity and administrative intensity: The case of declining organizations . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1987, 32, 87–105 .
Mentzer, M.S. & Near, J.P.Administrative cuts amidst decline in American railroads . Organization Studies, 1992, 13, 357–374 .
56.
Meyer, J.W. & Rowan, B.Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony . American Journal of Sociology, 1977, 83, 340–363 .
57.
Miller, D.What happens after success – The perils of excellence . Journal of Management Studies, 1994, 31, 325–358 .
58.
Mone, M.A. , McKinley, W. & Barker, V.L.Organizational decline and innovation: A contingency framework . Academy of Management Review, 1998, 23, 115–132 .
59.
Moxnes, P.Fantasies and fairy tales in groups and organizations: Bion's basic assumptions and the deep roles . European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 1998, 7, 283–298 .
60.
Moxnes, P.Deep roles: Twelve primordial roles of mind and organization . Human Relations, 1999, 52, 1427–1444 .
61.
Pandit, N.Some recommendations for improved research on corporate turnaround . Management, 2000, 3, 31–56 .
62.
Paperloop. Regional information centers, 2001. Available: www.paperloop.com
63.
Pearce, J.A. II & Robbins, K.D.Toward improved theory and research on business turnaround . Journal of Management, 1993, 19, 613–636 .
64.
Pentland, B.T.Building process theory with narrative: From description to explanation . Academy of Management Review, 1999, 24, 711–724 .
Poole, M.S. , Van de Ven, A.H. , Dooley, K. & Holmes, M.E.Organizational change and innovation processes: Theory and methods for research. New York: Oxford University Press , 2000.
67.
Propp, V.Morphology of the folktale. Austin, TX: American Folklore Society and Indiana University , 1928/2000.
68.
Propp, V.Theory and history of folklore. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press , 1985.
69.
Robbins, K.D. & Pearce, J.A. II.Turnaround: Retrenchment and recovery . Strategic Management Journal, 1992, 13, 287–309 .
70.
Sainio, P.Ministeri Mattila: Presidentin mies. Porvoo, Finland: WSOY , 1982.
71.
Schendel, D.E. & Patton, G.R.Corporate stagnation and turnaround . Journal of Economics and Business, 1976, 28, 236–252 .
72.
Schendel, D.E. , Patton, G.R. & Riggs, J.Corporate turnaround strategies: A study of profit decline and recovery . Journal of General Management, 1976, 3(3), 3–11 .
73.
Schick, A.G. & Ponemon, L.A.The influence of auditors' perceptions of organizational decline on audit risk . Organization Science, 1993, 4, 92–108 .
74.
Schleifer, R. & Velie, A.Genre and structure: Toward and actantial typology of narrative genres and modes . MLM, 1987, 102, 1122–1150 .
75.
Schneider, S.C. & Dunbar, R.L.M.A psychoanalytic reading of hostile takeover events . Academy of Management Review, 1992, 17, 537–567 .
76.
Scott, R.W.Symbols and organizations: From Barnard to the institutionalists. In O.E. Williams (Ed.), Organization theory: From Chester Barnard to the present and beyond. New York: Oxford University Press , 1995, pp. 38–55.
77.
Shook, C.L.Turning around turnaround research: The value of process in advancing knowledge . Advances in Applied Business Strategy, 1998, 5, 261–280 .
78.
Smith, K.K. & Simmons, V.M.A Rumpelstilskin organization: Metaphors on metaphors in field research . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1983, 28, 377–392 .
Todorov, T.Genres in discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press , 1990.
81.
Von Franz, M.-L.The interpretation of fairy tales. Boston: Shambhala , 1996. (Original published 1970.)
82.
Weitzel, W. & Jonsson, E.Decline in organizations: A literature integration and extension . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1989, 34, 91–110 .
83.
Whetten, D.Organizational decline: A neglected topic in organizational science . Academy of Management Review, 1980, 5, 577–588 .
84.
Wiseman, R.M. & Bromiley, P.Toward a model of risk in declining organizations: An empirical examination of risk, performance and decline . Organization Science, 1996, 7, 524–544 .
85.
Ziolkowski, J.M.A fairy tale from before fairy tales: Egbert of Liege's ‘De puella a lupellis seruta’ and the medieval background of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ . Speculum, 1992, 67, 549–757 .
