Formal analysis of narrative descriptions of events allows the researcher to rigorously examine processes of organizational change. Event-structure analysis (ESA), a rule-driven formal technique of narrative analysis, is applied to a narrative description of an environmental dispute. Various organizations and government agencies engaged in this dispute. ESA is applied to the narrative to clarify the causal linkages among the events and to demonstrate the advantages of studying organizational change through the formal analysis of narratives.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abell, P.1987. The syntax of social life: The theory and method of comparative narratives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2.
Abbott, A.1988. Transcending general linear reality. Sociological Theory, 6:169-186.
3.
Abbott, A.1990a. Conceptions of time and events in social science methods. Historical Methods, 23 (4): 140-150.
4.
Abbott, A.1990b. A primer on sequence methods. Organization Science, 1 (4): 375-392.
5.
Abbott, A.1992. From causes to events: Notes on narrative positivism. Sociological Methods & Research, 20 (4): 428-455.
6.
Abrams, P.1982. Historical sociology. Somerset, England: Open Books.
Buckholz, R. A.1993. Principles of environmental management: The greening of business. Englewood Cliffs, N J: Prentice-Hall.
9.
Corsaro, W. A.
, & Heise, D. R: 1990. Event structure models from ethnographic data. In C. C. Clogg (Ed.), Sociological Methodology: 1-49. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
10.
Diani, M.1995. Green networks: A structural analysis of the Italian environmental movement. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
11.
Feldman, M. S.1995. Strategies for interpreting qualitative data. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
12.
Gotham, K. F.
, & Staples, W. G.1996. Narrative analysis and the new historical sociology, Sociological Quarterly, 37: 481-501.
13.
Griffin, L. J.1992. Temporality, events, and explanation in historical sociology. Sociological Methods & Research, 20 (4): 403-427.
14.
Griffin, L. J.1993. Narrative, event-structure analysis, and causal interpretation in historical sociology. American Journal of Sociology, 98:1094-1133.
15.
Griffin, L. J.
, & Korstad, R. R.1995. Class as race and gender. Social Science History, 19: 425-454.
16.
Griffin, L. J.
, & Ragin, C. C.1994. Some observations on formal methods of qualitative analysis. Sociological Methods and Research, 23: 4-21.
17.
Guba, E. G.
, & Lincoln, Y. S.1994. Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research: 105-117. Beverly Hills: Sage.
18.
Heise, D. R.1989. Modeling event structures. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 14 (2): 139-169.
19.
Huberman, A. M.
, & Miles, M. B.1985. Assessing local causality in qualitative research. In D. H. Bey & K. K. Smith (Eds.), Exploring clinical methods to social research: 351-382. Beverly Hills: Sage.
20.
Huberman, A. M.
, & Miles, M. B.1994. Data management and analysis methods. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research: 428-444. Beverly Hills: Sage.
21.
Isaac, L. W.
, Street, D. A., & Knapp, S. J.1994. Analyzing historical contingency with formal methods. Sociological Methods and Research, 23:114-141.
22.
Kiser, E.1996. The revivial of narrative in historical sociology: What rational choice can contribute. Politics and Society, 24:249-271.
23.
Louis, M.
, & Bartunek, J.1992. Insider/Outsider researcher teams: Collaboration across diverse perspectives. Journal of Management Inquiry.1: 101-110.
24.
March, J. G.
, & Simon, H. A.1958. Organizations. New York: Wiley.
25.
McCarthy, J. D.
, & Zald, M. N.1977. Resource mobilization and social movements: A partial theory. American Journal of Sociology, 82:1212-1241.
26.
Miles, M. B.
, & Huberman, A. M.1994. Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills: Sage.
27.
Riessman, C. K.1993. Narrative analysis. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
28.
Van de Ven, A. H.
, & Poole, M. S.1995. Explaining development and change in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 20 (3): 510-540.
29.
Wood, D. J.1994. Business and society. New York: Harper Collins.
