Author(s)

Marcel Veenswijk, Alfons van Marrewijk

Department of Organizational Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

In this paper, based on a case study regarding the institutional privatization of a former French public sector ferry liner, new concepts in cross-cultural research are developed and explored. We argue that the ability to influence the direction of the change process of the ferry liner organization, called “Pascal Paoli”, heavily depends on the way actors are able to insert their so-called “narratives of change” into the power arena by means of a specific group of organizational “editors”. After a short introduction to the case, we identify four basic anthropological concepts which lead in understanding and analysing the case. The paper concludes with a reflection on the usefulness of the central concepts.

Cross-Cultural Management; Narratives of Change; Intervention; Privatization; Change Dynamics

M. Veenswijk and A. Marrewijk, "Unravelling Cultural Dynamics in a European Privatized State Enterprise," Journal of Service Science and Management, Vol. 5 No. 1, 2012, pp. 44-50. doi: 10.4236/jssm.2012.51006.