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Cited by 249Management and Organizational StudiesContemporary Sociological Theory and PracticeCultural Capital and Social Class

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 97 of the 98 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Symbolic Power and Organizational Culture

Hallett, Tim·2003·Sociological Theory
DOI 10.1111/1467-9558.00181
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Abstract

With the recent wave of corporate scandals, organizational culture has regained relevance in politics and the media. However, to acquire enduring utility, the concept needs an overhaul to overcome the weaknesses of earlier approaches. As such, this paper reconceptualizes organizational culture as a negotiated order (Strauss 1978) that emerges through interactions between participants, an order influenced by those with the symbolic power to define the situation. I stress the complementary contributions of theorists of practice (Bourdieu and Swidler) and theorists of interaction (Goffman and Strauss), building upward from practice into interaction, symbolic power, and the negotiated order. Using data from initial reports on the fall of Arthur Andersen and Co., I compare this symbolic power approach to other approaches (culture as subjective beliefs and values or as context/public meaning). The symbolic power model has five virtues: an empirically observable object of study; the capacity to explain conflict and integration; the ability to explain stability and change; causal efficacy; and links between the micro-, meso-, and macrolevels of analysis. Though this paper focuses on organizational culture, the symbolic power model provides theoretical leverage for understanding many situated contexts.

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Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 26

  1. Alexander D., 2002, Chicago Tribune, 1
  2. Alexander D., 2002, Chicago Tribune, 1
  3. Alexander D., 2002, Chicago Tribune, 1
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  7. 10.5465/amr.1980.4288894 · DOI
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  11. Giddens A., 1984, The Constitution of Society.
  12. Glickauf J. S., 1971, Footsteps toward Professionalism: Selected Addresses by Joseph S. Glickauf.
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  14. Goffman E., 1967, Interaction Ritual.
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  16. Lee O., 2000, Current Perspectives in Sociological Theory, 20, 27
  17. Measelle D., 2002, Chicago Tribune
  18. Meyerson D. E., 1991, Refraining Organizational Culture, 131
  19. Nord W., 1985, Organizational Culture: The Meaning of Life in the Workplace, 187
  20. Schein E., 1991, Refraining Organizational Culture, 14
  21. Spacek L., 1969, A Search for Fatness in Financial Reporting to the Public: Selected Addresses by Leonard Spacek, 1956–1969.
  22. Spacek L., 1985, The Growth of Arthur Andersen and Company.
  23. 10.2307/258488 · DOI
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  26. Wilkins A., 1983, Organizational Symbolism, 81

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Metadata

Authors
Hallett, T.
Affiliations
Indiana University (US)
Corresponding author
Hallett, Tim
ORCID
Hallett, Tim
Venue
Sociological Theory
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2003-06
Volume
21
Issue
2
Pages
128-149
ISSN
  • 0735-2751 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-9558
DOI
10.1111/1467-9558.00181
OpenAlex
W2079622963
Cited by
249
References
98
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 11
FWCI
9.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Sociological Theory (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Cultural Capital and Social Class
Keywords
organizational culture, symbolic power, negotiated order, corporate scandals, Arthur Andersen, Pierre Bourdieu, Erving Goffman, Strauss, practice theory, interaction theory, situated context

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